Ballads
by LadyKnightSkye
Summary: Movie-verse. Love is a battlefield, as the song goes, and life is seldom fair. Optimus, Elita, and all the Cybertronians on Earth know this well, and their ballads are yet to be sung. Major pairings: OPxE1, HidexChromia, CeexCade/Prowl, misc OCxOC pairing
1. Dirge for the Past

**Title: **Ballads

**Continuity: **Movie-verse/7.4.7

**Pairings: **OptimusxElita; further pairings will be introduced later.

**Warnings: **some graphic imagery; some graphic violence; some strong language;

**Summery: **Love is a battlefield, as the song goes, and life is seldom fair. Optimus, Elita, and all the Cybertronians on Earth know this well, and their ballads are to be sung.

* * *

_**Author's Notes:**_

A new story that grew out of my original _Femme Invasion_ idea, but this time around it's much darker and more violent. There will be very little humor and some of the subject material may be for more mature audiences. **This is rated T for a reason.** I strongly advise that if you don't feel comfortable with strong language or graphic images, then don't read this. Even if you are okay, I'd strongly advise you not to read before dinner.

However, this is a romance. The bulk of the story will deal with emotions, so you don't really have to worry too much about the bad, but I feel better warning you before hand.

If you've got a strong stomach and a romantic soul, enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Dirge for the Past**

_**Dirge - **_**funeral hymn; song of mourning or lament, especially about death or intended for a funeral.**

* * *

The morning was bright and clear. It was not unusual for the southern part of Louisiana. The bayou was filled with its regular animal sounds and the peace of nature was untouched. Serena looked out her bedroom window with a small smile. Her mother loved days like this; days with the promise of so much more.

Serena glanced over at the picture on the wall. A tall, dark skinned woman smiled out from behind a rosebush, a twinkle in her blue eyes and a dimple in her cheek. Serena felt tears begin to start. "Why?" she whispered. "Why did I have to live?"

As the sobs rose in her throat, Serena touched the hairline scar on her face. It was thin but red and angry looking. The mark ran from her hairline to the corner of her eye to her jaw, a nasty reminder of where the doctors had to sew part of the skin of her face back to the rest.

Serena glanced down to the dishes she was doing. She shook her head. "Stop it. You have survivors guilt and that's it." Tears welled up. "Stop it."

It had been going on for about six months that Serena had been feeling this way. She hated that it happened but she couldn't seem to help it. She'd been talking to a therapist, but she couldn't seem to make herself feel better. It was then that she felt at her worst that her life changed forever.

A sonic boom rung out over her head. At first Serena thought it was only a jet from the nearby Air Force base, but something about the sound was different. It sounded bigger. Curiosity pushed her to glance out the window. At first she thought it was just the tears that were blurring her sight, but as she wiped them away, she realized what she was seeing was real. A meteor was falling from the sky!

She opened up the window of her small house on the edge of the bayou to lean out and watch it descend. A loud boom announced it's meeting with the crust of the Earth. Serena spent a moment in contemplation before a rudimentary plan began to form. She hurriedly dressed and jogged out of the house. Her curiosity was piqued. She was about to board her small boat when a large wave appeared in the distance.

"Oh crap!" she cried before running back into the house. The meteor must have displaced quite a bit of water. However, she needn't have worried. The wave was nothing like a hurricane's storm surge so it merely smashed into the wooden dock and caused a couple of the boards to crack. The water didn't reach her house, but after most of the water receded, her backyard was covered in debris and one very disoriented alligator.

"Now that," Serena said as she watched the alligator make its way back to the waters of the swamp, "Is something you don't see everyday."

She waited a few more minutes to be absolutely sure that alligator was gone before she picked her way through the myriad branches and detritus back to her boat. It was turned upside down on the dock, but otherwise was in okay condition. It was a ten footer that had served her well in the past as a fishing boat. She carefully flipped it over and set it gently into the water.

She pushed off of the dock and began to journey to where she had calculated the thing fell. It couldn't be too far; the tidal wave had been small but sizeable. She rowed and surveyed the damage. Along the waterway trees had been knocked down and she could see more wild life staggering about. She kept a watch out for the meaner denizens of the bayou, but none announced themselves.

She rowed on for about twenty minutes before she came to the scene of impact. The crater was small, and half on a small island. Some of the islands of the bayou weren't completely firm, and this one looked like one of those. Inside the crater was the meteorite, but Serene thought something was wrong. The rock didn't look like rock and it wasn't burned and scorched by its entry into Earth's atmosphere. Before her very eyes, the meteorite offered up its mystery. The surface began to writhe and undulate and Serena bit back a yelp of surprise. Parts were rearranging and aligning into a bipedal shape that had to be at least thirty feet tall. Two glowing eyes of the truest blue stared down at her.

Serena felt adrenaline pump throughout her body and began to shake. However, she couldn't move for anything. She was panicking. The thing in front of her cocked its monstrous head and leaned down. Serena cried out as it reached for and grabbed her. She screamed in fright when it lifted her up into the air, but it held her close in what she guessed was an attempt to comfort her. She heard a strange hiss not unlike static over a radio coming from what looked like the thing's mouth.

When she finally stopped the creature pulled her away from its chest a little. Now that she was panicking a little less, Serena noticed that the creature was faintly human in appearance. It had four distinct limbs and its hands had four fingers and a thumb. Its face sported a mouth made of moveable slabs of metal and its eyes had shutters that opened up vertically and horizontally. There was no nose really, but there was a conglomeration of metal slabs that would be the equivalent of a pert little nose on a human.

"Calm down honey." it said in a low, feminine voice. Serena marveled at this. Not only had it spoken flawless English, but also the sound of the voice was amazing. It was low for a woman and smoky, almost like a bedroom voice but without the human sexuality in the tone. Instead, it was infinitely soothing and gentle, with a hint that it could be raised in an instant to a matronly voice fit for a battlefield.

Serena still couldn't speak, but the creature didn't seem to find that disturbing. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm pledged to protect those like you."

"Those like me?" Serena couldn't help but ask.

"Those that can't defend themselves." the creature said with a hint of amusement. Serena decided not to comment on that.

The creature cocked her head to the other side and her shutters crinkled her eyes to communicate a smile. "What is your name?" it asked.

"I . . . I'm Serena. Serena Marshall."

"Well, it is nice to meet you Serena Marshall," the creature said, still with that hint of a smile on its face, "I am called Elita-1."

* * *

Jorge Figueroa skipped another rock along the surface of the lake. He was deep in thought, but not unaware of the surroundings. It was part of his training to always be aware. He'd been an Army Ranger since he'd gotten out of high school, and he'd never even thought of another occupation. However, circumstances and one mean robotic sonovabitch had made it necessary.

Fig's recollection of the hours after the battle with Scorponok in the village were hazy and nearly nonexistent. He remembered Will telling him to hold on, and Bobby radioing frantically for a medic. According to the doctors, his heart had stopped on two occasions on the way to the nearest army facility that could deal with his wounds and his heart had stopped again when Lennox and Epps had left him in Saudi Arabia. They'd actually thought he was dead all through the hellish hours they'd spent fighting the Decepticons at Mission City.

How overjoyed they'd been when they'd seen him being wheeled into his room at Walter Reed. How crushed when they learned that he'd never go on another mission with them. Scorponok's ammo had ripped through his left side; a portion of his left lung had been utterly destroyed and one kidney was now nonfunctional. The surgeons had been forced to staple his small intestine back together and - thought they'd never put it in these terms - jury rig his large intestine. Fig was damn lucky to be alive.

Not unlike his companion. Sitting next to the former Ranger was a silver Autobot by the name of Jazz. The Autobots' medical officer Ratchet had been able to find a way to revive Jazz using the last of the Allspark as a surrogate spark. It had actually been a huge gamble; Ratchet had estimated a seventy-five percent chance that instead of reviving Jazz he would create an entirely new entity from the slain Autobot's body. Nothing of the sort had ever been attempted, and it came as a joy to the Autobots that the procedure was a success.

However, like Fig, Jazz's fighting days were pretty much over. Peace reigned on Earth, at least as far as the Cybertronians were concerned, and even if a new threat were to materialize, Ratchet was adamant that Jazz not fight for at least a decade Earth time.

So here the two crippled soldiers were, sharing a quiet moment at Tranquility Lake while everyone else was busy being useful. It was actually the feeling of inadequacy and uselessness as well as an appreciation for reggaeton that had cemented their friendship.

"Anythin' from Will and Bobby?" Fig asked.

"Nothin'. Doc Hatchet says that they should be back soon though." Jazz answered in his usual tone. He was depressed a little, but as Optimus had once called him, he was the Irrepressible Jazz. He'd already decided that he while he couldn't fight, it wouldn't stop him from doing something else he loved. Jazz hoped to start up a DJ business, and he wanted Fig to be the actual DJ since Jazz couldn't do it all by himself for obvious reasons. He'd yet to convince the Latino though.

Fig skipped another stone. "Figures. I pray they get the bastard."

"You and me both." Jazz chirped. "I'd love to see the fragger hanging by his internal wiring."

"I wonder if Mama could figure out a way to cook 'em. Scorponok gumbo sounds intriguing."

"Sounds just as good as your mama's alligator _et touffe_."

"Nobody appreciates my Mama's food."

"Maybe if yo Mama actually cooked food nobody'd have a problem wi'it."

Fig broke out in rapid Spanish but Jazz ignored him. Instead the silver Autobot carefully transformed. "Come on Fig. Let's get back to base. Doc Hatchet's probably wondering where we are."

Fig hoped in and laughed. "Maybe I ought to fight the gov'ment to let me tell my Mama about y'all like Will did to let his wife get in on it."

Jazz's deep bass filled the cab. "I still feel sorry for the lil femme. Gettin' Ironhide for a guardian? Must've scared her shitless."

"Well," Fig began, "It could've been worse."

"How?"

"She could've got Ratch."

Both mech and man burst out laughing.

* * *

Optimus Prime was stargazing again. Not a lot of the humans that knew him probably would have thought that the noble leader would like to spend his time looking to the stars, but one did. She was currently seated on his foot.

Mikaela Banes had matured in the three years since Mission City. She was now armed with a Associates in Business and the government paychecks they gave her for being a liaison between the U.S. government and the Autobots. She was currently in the process of starting up her own custom auto business.

Optimus had kindly agreed to be her mascot and first customer in order to better camouflage him. His flashy paint job attracted just a bit too much attention since one semi enthusiast had taken pictures and posted them on his blog. He'd still keep his trademark flames, but Mikaela would say that she was the one who painted them and offer flames in any color and on any kind of vehicle. The idea was to allow Optimus to blend a little better when some of the more vain truckers came in to get some of those hot flames and to give him a place where he could park without being harassed. In effect Mikaela would also get her very own guardian since Bee was with Sam up at UCLA.

"They're pretty tonight." Mikaela said.

"Yes. The atmosphere is particularly clear here." Optimus replied.

Mikaela made a sound of annoyance. "Can take the robot out of the cliché but can't take the cliché out of the robot." she muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." she answered in her most innocent voice. She could feel Optimus' disapproving stare but she only smiled. She enjoyed her time with the big Autobot. He was a sort of father figure for her. "So, any answers from your comrades?" Mikaela wasn't stupid. She knew that the reason Optimus really came out here was to see if any of his Autobots had answered his call. He came every night, and lately she had started coming with him. She found it relaxing after a long day of work to come out here and lounge on his foot, watching the stars twinkle. Often she would be lulled to sleep by the warmth of his metal and would find herself laying in his cab hours later as he rolled toward home.

"No. Nothing." he whispered, the sound barely meeting Mikaela's ears.

The wistfulness in his tone struck and chord and pulled at her heartstrings. "Is there someone . . . Someone you're waiting for in particular?" she asked.

Optimus' blue optics turned from the sky to her. "Yes."

"A good friend or something?"

"Or something."

"I didn't know you guys could fall in love."

Optimus chuckled. "Sometimes you amuse me to no end. Mikaela, we are sentient beings. We feel, we think, we do. We feel emotional pain as well as physical, and we feel all the things you do. Love, hate, sadness, joy, despair, tiredness, hope . . . Everything you do."

Mikaela digested that. "You're right. I never really thought about it like that. It's just that you guys are well . . . Robots. Its hard to think of you as being like humans."

"I can understand. It was hard for me at first to think of you as being like us."

"It was?!"

"Yes. You all seemed like sparklings at first. Protoforms that needed to be led around and supervised. But it didn't take long for me to realize that like us, there is more to you than meets the eye."

Mikaela leaned back and smiled at the sky. She was unaccountably moved by that. "Optimus?"

"Yes Mikaela?"

"I know this'll sound . . . Strange . . . But do you guys have girls?"

Optimus' laughter was like low thunder. "Yes, but we refer to them as femmes. And yes, the one I love is a femme."

She nodded. "What's her name?"

"Loosely translated between our language and yours, Elita-1."

Mikaela frowned. "So that's how you got your names? Translation?"

"In a way. We took what our names meant approximately and found words that were close or gave the same idea. In Cybertronian my name meant 'First and Best', so I chose the Latin that meant that. Bumblebee's name was something to the line of 'Happiness in accomplishments', so he chose Bumblebee because he thought it fit. Elita's name means 'Elite femme', so she'd most likely choose Elita-1."

"What's the one for?"

"It's to denote that she is the chosen mate of the Prime." he answered.

Mikaela pursed her lips and nodded. "Interesting. So you're waiting for her?"

"Yes. And I'll wait as long as I have to."

Mikaela smiled. "See, if you were a human, I'd have to grab you quick. Sam's a sweetheart, but he's not that much of a sweetheart."

"I'm flattered."

"You better be."

* * *

The motorcycle was alone on the highway. It roared down the road, intent upon whatever destination it had in mind. There was not a care for anyone else on the quiet Midwestern prairie.

Then, it was not alone. Out of seemingly nowhere, a black and white cop car revved its engine and let its sirens begin to wail. The motorcycle sped up, but the cop car was one step ahead of it. There was a screech of metal on metal and the motorcycle rolled over and began to shift and rock.

The machine rose in the night, but it wasn't alone in the shift. The cop car became a menacing giant as well. No words were heard as they battled only screeches and blasts. The smaller motorcycle tried to break away once, but the cop car prevented it.

The entire incident was over in a matter of minutes. The motorcycle lay on the ground unmoving and cop car none too gently picked it up. For the first time, the cop car robot spoke. His voice was a dragon's growl as he carried the motorcycle like an unconscious maiden. "I've got you now Arcee."


	2. Adventure Overture

**Chapter 2: Adventure Overture**

_**Overture - **_**musical introduction: a single orchestral movement that introduces an opera, play, ballet, or longer musical work, often including the work's themes.**

* * *

Serena hummed a tune. She was busy in the kitchen making herself breakfast while a fascinated Elita-1 watched. The robot could detect the aromas the cooking bacon and eggs were giving off, and wondered how the humans found the smell appetizing. She began to get tired of hunching over to look in the window and sat back.

"So," Serena had to yell, "Your home planet is called Cybertron?"

"Yes." Elita cocked her head. "Here, I'm about to engage an E.S.H. to make this a little easier on both of us."

Before Serena could ask what an E.S.H. was, Elita popped open a compartment in her right leg beneath her armor. She gently removed what looked to Serena to be a framework of some kind. When Elita had completely unfolded it, Serena felt a chill go up her spine. The E.S.H. frame looked like a human skeleton. Then, the robot pressed a button and said something in her screechy language. Before Serena's amazed eyes, the frame became a woman.

The woman looked to be in her mid-twenties, but something about the blue eyes hinted at eternity. Pretty wine red hair flowed down her back but her skin was a light tan instead of a redhead's fair. The woman wasn't very tall, merely average in height, and she walked toward the door of Serena's house with a purpose.

The door opened and Serena watched her come inside. The woman smiled and twirled, showing off a pretty pink dress not unlike Serena's own simple baby-doll one. "Do you like it?" the woman said with Elita's voice.

"What are you?" Serena asked.

The woman smiled sheepishly. "The facsimile you see before you is an exploratory sensory hologram - an E.S.H. They are for exploration without risk to the Cybertronian who produced them. They are holograms to avoid detection and harassment." she explained. "I'm using it as a way for us to communicate without me having to contort myself uncomfortably down to your level and so you don't have to shout. Plus I figured you might feel better if I looked human to you for a little while so you could get used to the idea of me being your partner."

Serena took a moment to digest it all. "My partner?"

"I told you yesterday that I'm looking for someone. I'd like you to help me find him."

Serena nodded. She smiled at the woman. "Alright, I'll help you. College is on vacation and I've just been hanging around the house all day. I could use an adventure."

The Elita-facsimile nodded. "You were asking me about Cybertron before?"

"Oh yeah." Serena served up her bacon and eggs. She felt strange not offering any to her guest, but she figured that a hologram didn't eat. "Why did you leave?"

The hologram sat down across from her. "I left because for as long as I can remember, there has been war. It engulfed the planet and laid waste to it."

Serena gulped down a bite of egg. "As long as you can remember? How old are you?"

"By Earth's time, I'm somewhere in the neighborhood of one hundred million years old. I was created during the war." she answered.

"Wow." Serena breathed. "So you left because you didn't want to fight any more?"

Elita laughed. "No, I left because the planet was dead. All that was left after millions of years of war was a husk. I left to find the Allspark so that we could revive our world."

"What's an Allspark?"

"The. There's only one. The Allspark was what created our race over two billion years ago. The leader of the Autobots sent it into space so that the leader of the Decepticons wouldn't get his hands on it. And before you ask, the Autobots are the good guys; the Decepticons are the bad guys. I belong to the Autobots."

Serena nodded and ate her bacon. "So you're here looking for someone. Why? Has he found the Allspark?"

"I honestly don't know. What I do know is that I must find him. He sent a message across the stars inviting the rest of his faction here, saying that this was to be our new home, at least for now." Elita answered.

Serena felt her jaw go slack. "What?! But this is our home!"

Elita raised her hands in supplication. "He said that we were to live in harmony with humans. Apparently he and his team took on vehicle alternate modes in order to blend in and watch over humanity. He wants the rest of us to do that too."

Serena felt something click in her head. "This guy you're looking for, he's the leader of the Autobots isn't he?"

"Yes, but he's more then that to me." Elita-facsimile extended her hand across the table. Serena felt her jaw drop. She was wearing a wedding ring.

"There's a reason I added that. He's more than just the leader. He's my mate, my husband if you will."

Serena looked up into those eternal eyes. They were filled with tears. "I haven't seen my mate in over 5 million years your time. Please help me find him."

"But how can I help you?" Serena asked finally thinking about the whole partner thing. "It's not like I know where to look! And you're connected to the internet!"

"But there is simply too much information, even for my processors. I don't know where to look first, and my facsimile is imperfect. Touch my arm."

Serena hesitated, but reached out and placed her hand over the E.S.H.'s. Her hand went right through the hologram and touched the metal underneath. "I can't go out into a crowded place with this. Yes, I may find him sooner or later, but I'd prefer sooner, and you can help me with that. You must know something!"

Serena thought for a moment. Before she could say anything her ears picked up the sound of an approaching car. "Crap! Hide!"

Elita-1 was a step ahead of her. When Serena looked out the window, the robot was nowhere to be seen. She jogged to the front door and looked out to see her father drive up in his prized '08 Ford-Shelby Mustang GT500. It was the kind with the pushed in lights and the wing on the back. Serena was forever confusing them with the kind that the police around there had started using, the Saleen Mustangs.

She watched her father climb out of the car. He was in his late fifties, but you wouldn't know by his appearance. His hair was salt and pepper and his eyes were still their emerald green. Something to the side of the house caught his eye and he smiled at her. "You finally got a new car!" he called.

Serena frowned and glanced over to where he had been looking. There sat a brand-spanking new Ford-Shelby Mustang GT500 done in pink and white, but instead of being plain like her father's, it had a thick white stripe running down it with flames on the front hood.

"_Apparently he and his team took on vehicle alternate modes in order to blend in . . ."_ Elita had taken an alternate mode. She was the pink and white muscle car!

"Yeah, you like it? I just got it yesterday." Well, that wasn't a huge lie.

"It's a beaut hon. She'll do you just fine."

Serena had to keep from laughing. That was a her all right. "Thanks Dad."

* * *

Fig had an idea. "Hey, Jazz, wanna go with me to Louisiana to visit Mama?"

Jazz looked down and the human and had to think a moment. "As long as we get permission, don't see why not."

:_Jazz to Optimus._:

:_Yes Jazz?_:

:_Fig asked me to go with him to see his mother. May I?_:

:_Go on ahead Jazz. But be careful. If you need me, I'll be at Mikaela's shop._:

:_Thanks OP._:

:_No problem Jazz. Optimus out._:

:_Jazz out._:

"Optimus said ok." Jazz told his human friend.

Fig gave him a thumbs up. "Can you be ready to leave in two hours?"

"Sure."

* * *

Optimus watched the sun set. It was another new hobby of his. He enjoyed a lot of things on Earth. The star-filled night sky, the sun rising and setting, the flora and fauna. The people. He especially liked the people.

But one thing was missing. Elita. If only she could be here to see the sun rise and set with him, to see the creatures great and small. He knew that she would love it all too. To see her optics brighten in joy just one more time. That's all he asked.

Optimus wasn't an overly demonstrative mech. He was reserved and if left to his own devices, shy. Before the war he had relied on Megatron to be the outspoken one, the extroverted one. He had rarely spoken in public, and when he did he had been shaking inside. One of the few blessings of the war had been that he'd learned to be forceful and outspoken and a better leader. The other had been Elita-1.

He'd found her downed and wounded during one of the battles of Iacon. A strut from a nearby building had fallen on her leg, pinning her down with no way to get up. She was nearing stasis lock and was even more precariously close to being offlined. He remembered with sickening clarity the puddle of energon and hydraulics fluid that had stained the ground beneath her a disgusting muddy pink. By that time he'd had enough field patching from Ratchet that he'd known exactly what to do to staunch her bleeding and get her stable enough to be transported.

Optimus dimmed his optics at the memory of the first time he'd picked her up. Elita had weakly wrapped her arms around his neck as he'd lifted under her lower back and the knee joints. Too weak to speak vocally, she'd sent him a thank you digitally. He sensed her spark growing weaker, and he felt his shout in defiance.

:_What's your name soldier?_:

:_Elite-Femme._:

:_I am Best-and-First._:

He'd felt her mental surprise. :_Commander!_:

:_Don't move. You're too weak. I will carry you to Tool-That-Tightens and get you fixed up._:

Optimus felt his optics crinkle at the name Ratchet's creators had given him. He'd always crankily said that he hated it, but when asked why he didn't just change it, he'd snap and say he didn't hate it that much. As Bumblebee insisted, Ratchet had always just wanted something to "bitch" about. The mech was never happier unless he had something to harp on or nag about.

Elita had placidly let him carry her all the way back to Autobot command and didn't speak again until he'd deposited her on Ratchet's operating table. :_Thank you sir._:

Optimus had stayed for a bit watching Elita's slumbering face. She was ascetically pleasing to Cybertronians, males especially, and her creators had spent amazing attention to detail. She was exquisite. After she'd been allowed to be up and around, she'd sought him out to thank him again. It hadn't taken him long for him to ask her to stay in high command. She had refused, saying that she hadn't earned it yet. What had ensued had been a test of wills that had become legendary to the Autobots and Decepticons alike. There had been a large betting pool on who would triumph - Elita or Optimus.

"Hey Optimus."

Mikaela's voice pulled him out of his reverie. "Yes?"

The woman's nose wrinkled in distaste. "Agent Simmons is here to see you."

If Optimus could have, his nose would have wrinkled in distaste too. He barely tolerated to the aft-hole agent. "Where is he?"

"Right here sir." Agent Simmons appeared at Optimus' side. Optimus nodded. He didn't like the man, but at least the human understood that he wasn't their favorite man. He had risen in Optimus' esteem though. When they'd first met, Optimus would have willingly gone against the "no harming humans" rule.

"Good evening Agent Simmons. To what do I owe this visit?"

Simmons acknowledged the greeting with a nod. "We want to ask for you and your men to meet with us. We have something to discuss with you. We also would like to ask your medical officer to come to the Hoover Dam pronto."

"Why?" Optimus asked with some alarm.

"We've recovered a Cybertronian, but we don't know if it's still alive."

* * *

Arcee reluctantly booted up her optics. She felt like she'd been run over by several "trucks". She levered herself up and hissed.

She was in a cage. The energy bars glowed white hot and she could barely see the outside for the burning brightness. "_So you're awake_."

At that voice, Arcee froze. "_He-Who-Stops_." she hissed. "_Let me go you oversized scrap heap_!"

"_Now, is that anyway to talk to an old friend? And the name is_ Barricade _now_."

Arcee narrowed her optics to slits. "_Is that what we are_?"

"_Of course_." Barricade replied sarcastically.

"_How long have I been in stasis_?" she snapped.

"_Thirty-six Earth hours_."

"_Lovely. Where's Elite-Femme, Metal-Femme, and the others_?"

Barricade lifted his shoulders in a robotic shrug. "_I have no idea _Arcee."

"_Why did you call me that_?" she snapped.

"_It suits you better than Reconnaissance-Contact. Remember, on Earth they can't speak Cybertronian._"

Arcee fumed, but she couldn't argue. "_Why did you take me_?"

A hand reached through the bars. Barricade touched her face gently. "_They took my _Frenzy_, so I'll take their _Arcee."

Arcee didn't want to admit that she was more frightened then she'd ever been, even when Megatron had taken her prisoner and she'd watched him rip _Happiness-in-Accomplishments_' vocal box out. Something was wrong with the normally calm scientist. Very wrong. "_What happened to _Frenzy?" she asked quietly.

"_The humans killed him._"

"_So that's what you're going to do to me_? _You're going to kill me_?"

"_No. I will have my revenge for his death from the humans. You're going to be my revenge for taking away my companion._"

Arcee shrank away from his hand, instinctively knowing what he was going to do. "_I refuse. I will not mate with you. You can't force me._"

A gleam came into Barricade's optics. "_Who said anything about forcing_?"

It was that moment that Arcee realized she was in even more danger that she originally thought. Barricade was completely insane.


	3. Hymns for the Questing Mind

**Chapter 3: Hymns for the Questing Mind**

_**Hymn:**_** song of praise to somebody or something.**

* * *

That night after her father left, Serena thought back to the conversation she'd had with Elita. "Hey, Elita, can you send your E.S.H. up to the computer room?"

"Sure."

It took a moment, but Serena heard the door open and close and then steps on the stairs. In came Elita-facsimile. She sat across beside Serena in the second computer chair and looked hopeful. "Okay, I was thinking about what you said earlier, and I have an idea." Serena turned the monitor toward Elita. "Does this ring a bell?"

Elita looked flabbergasted. "That's the Autobot symbol!" She touched the monitor. "How did this person reproduce it?"

Serena clucked. "Thought so. This is a conspiracy theory website. Know what that is?"

Elita cocked her head. "A conspiracy theory is the thought that a particular event is the fault of a secret plot rather than just an individual's actions or fate itself."

Serena nodded. "Well, about three years ago, a city out west was hit by a terrorist attack. It was almost as bad as 9/11. It was worse damage wise but fewer people were killed although a lot were hurt. Anyway, even though the official word was terrorists, according to this site, and I did look for facts to back up this guy's claim, no terrorist organization has taken the blame. There was one top official who said that whoever really did it had to be a master of devastation because there was no way that any of the groups today could pull something like that off. Another group alright called the U.S. government liars who bombed themselves in order to have propaganda to throw around for the War on Terror."

Elita nodded. "But these people have another idea."

"Yeah. According to several survivors - who supposedly were shut up by the government - the attack was caused by giant robots." Serena gave her a pointed look. "I'm thinking that these survivors were right and the theorist for this site is right. The government shut them up so that they could keep the Autobots and Deceptions a secret. According to these accounts the robots were fighting each other, and get this, one group was actively _protecting_ a group of U.S. military and a couple of teenagers according to the conspiracy theorist. He says he was right there when everything happened."

Elita sat back with a smile on her holographic face.

"Oh, and the guy also says it tickled him pink when he saw them use a Furby truck as a shield." Serena said, reading something else off the site. Elita looked up what a Furby was and laughed.

"I can just imagine _Thick-Armor _using furry creatures as a shield." she giggled.

Serena cocked an eyebrow. "Who?"

"_Thick-Armor_."

"Screechy-screech?" Serena tried.

Elita shook her head. "I believe he'd probably call himself something like Thickarmor, Ironhide, or Steelskin here, but that 'screechy-screech' is his name in Cybertronian."

"Ah."

Serena swiveled to face Elita. "So we've got a possible lead. Now, we can't just walk up to the U.S. government and ask since I don't want to risk having you taken into custody or something, but I'm thinking this Hunter Quinn might have a good idea where to start."

Elita nodded. "Let's go see Mr. Quinn and see what he's got to say."

* * *

Fig and Jazz had driven about a day when they got a call from Optimus. :_Optimus to Jazz. Optimus to Jazz._:

:_Jazz here. What's up Optimus?_:

:_We've got a situation Jazz. The Interspecific Division of the CIA recovered another Cybertronian. Ratchet was sent for._:

:_Primus. Do we know who it is?_:

:_Not yet._:

:_Do you want me and Fig to come back?_:

:_No. Keep going. I only wanted to inform you. However, be on standby._:

:_Yes sir, Optimus sir._:

:_Prime out._:

:_Jazz out._:

"'Sup _amigo_?" Fig asked.

"The CIA found another Cybertronian, but Optimus doesn't know who it is yet."

Fig nodded. "He want us to come back?"

"Nah. He just wanted to give me the heads up. But we're to be on standby, so if I make a killer 180 it's because Optimus has called us back."

Fig nodded. "Just warn me so I don get whiplash. I've had that before, it ain't pleasant."

"Gotcha Fig. No whiplash for you."

They rode in silence for a few minutes before Fig finally asked what he'd wanted to ask ever since Jazz had commented on a woman's butt. "Jazz, do you boys have girls?"

"You mean females? Damn straight we do."

Fig grinned. "I can bet you were a hit then."

"You betta believe it! I could charm the armor offa any femme," Jazz crowed, "Well, except Elita-1, but that girl was Prime's from the moment she laid optics on him. Course I think the feelings were mutual. Which was a big deal since Prime was a player too let me ya. We called him Femme Magnet for a reason."

Fig held up his hands, which earned a concerned look from the driver in the car that just passed. "Whoa. Dude, _what?!_ Prime was a player?"

"Oh yeah. Now, he wasn't flashin' bling and runnin' round with five femmes at once or anythin', but he had a string'a'femmes let me tell ya. But I think a lotta them were attracted to his power and his looks. Prime's a looker to Cybertronian females, which is merely one more reason we rib him." Jazz explained as he took an interchange. "The rest of us are handsome enough, but one look at Prime and we fall into the shadows."

"That's cold." Fig said. "Sounds like some Earth girls. Find themselves a nice rich guy rather than followin' their hearts."

"As Prime would say, it's a consequence of sentience. Females of any species subconsciously look for mates that will protect offspring, but instead of insurin' the passin' down of DNA in humans, you have data in Cybertronians. They flock to power because they know that will insure their genes or data will be passed down. That's on the subconscious, but on the conscious they know that powerful men can take care of them. Greed plays a part too, and greed is that consequence of sentience."

Fig nodded. "Deep. So is Prime a philosopher too?"

"Yeah. He's a real Renaissance Mech."

Fig laughed. "The De Vinci of Autobots."

"Next time he calls I ought to call him Leo and see what he does." Jazz guffawed.

"You get away with a lot don't you?"

"All of us do. Prime loves us. We're like his kids even though both Ratch and Hide are older than he is." Jazz said.

"Well, they do act like little kids sometimes." Fig replied, thinking of the hijinx that the medical officer and the weapons specialist were prone to.

"You got that right. Sometimes I wonder how Prime deals with all of us."

"Well, you said it yourself. He's like your father. He loves you."

"So he puts up with us."

"Well, I wasn't gonna say that but yeah." Fig said. "And what about this one femme that caught Prime? Elita?"

"Well, her real name would be something like Elite-Femme in English, but Optimus thinks she'll take the name Elita if - when she gets to Earth." Jazz said.

Fig frowned. "You seem certain she'll get here."

Jazz let out a robotic sigh. "She has to man. If she doesn't, Prime might go crazy."

"I hope you mean that figuratively man."

"Nope. It's a proven fact that if the surviving part of a bond - any kind of strong one - can go insane if they know for a fact that their other half is dead. Unless they form a new bond, they'll eventually offline themselves through deterioration of components by stress."

"So what kind of strong bonds are there?" Fig asked, fascinated.

"Well, there's the kind Elita and OP have, which is like marriage. And literally it's until death do them part. The other kind is a more familial bond. If memory serves that's the kind that Barricade and Frenzy had."

Something occurred to both and Fig and Jazz at the same time. "Jazz, dude, what was the last bead on Barricade?"

"No clue. No one's seen him since Mission City." Jazz answered.

* * *

Optimus wanted to shout when he heard the news. :_Are you sure Ratchet?_:

:_Yes sir. It's Chromia. She's only got a minor injury, but the impact caused her to go into stasis. She was about a few steps from stasis lock._:

:_Have you told Ironhide?_:

:_Am I suicidal?_:

:_Not that I know of._:

:_There you go. I leave that up to you. If there's anyone Ironhide won't send to the slagheap for being the one to bear the bad news that his mate was hurt, it's you._:

:_Ratchet, are you so sure about that?_:

:_Ratchet out._:

:_Optimus out._:

Prime felt like dancing and groaning at the same time. Mikaela must have picked up on the mood because she patted his dash. "You okay Optimus? Did Ratchet know who it is?" She was riding with him to the Hoover Dam. Ironhide was escorting Will Lennox who was home on leave and Bumblebee had Sam. Jazz was to continue on his journey with Figueroa.

"Yes, Ratchet knows who it is. Her name is Chromia, and she's Ironhide's mate."

Mikaela smiled brightly. "Ironhide's mate? Oh my gosh is she alright? She wasn't too badly injured?"

"No, Ratchet is optimistic she'll be okay, but we're more worried about how Ironhide will take it. He's . . . touchy where his mate is concerned."

Thinking of the mech who loved to whip out his cannons on Chihuahuas, Mikaela could believe that. "So Ratchet is passing the buck?"

Optimus knew he liked this girl for a reason. "Yes. He told me I get the dubious honor of telling Ironhide that Chromia was injured."

"Sucks to be you."

Optimus chuckled. "Not really. Chromia was a favored cohort of Elita. She might know where Elita is."

Mikaela perked up. "Cool!"

They rode in for a little while longer until they finally made it to the dam. The Cybertronians rolled in, and the group made their way down to the cleaned up hangers that used to be Sector Seven headquarters. They stopped in what used to be Megatron's hanger as it was the anteroom to what had been the Allspark chamber. It was now Ratchet's emergency room.

Ratchet strode out and gave Optimus a pointed look. "You haven't told him yet?"

"Told who what?" Bumblebee asked.

The humans and Ironhide looked on with interest. Optimus stared down Ratchet. "You're sure she'll be okay?"

Ratchet realized what his leader was doing and nodded. "She'll be fine. She's recharging for a little while more just to be sure." Ratchet decided to take the plunge. "Chromia will be fine."

"Chromia?" Ironhide asked. His mandible went slack and Lennox took one look at Ironhide's face and began to howl in laughter.

Agent Simmons frowned. "Who's Chromia?"

"Chromia is that Cybertronian in there." Ratchet said, pointing behind him. "She's Ironhide's mate."

Lennox leaned against the speechless warrior's leg. "So Ironhide is more like me than I thought. A soldier and married. Does he have a kid?"

"Not yet he doesn't, but if he doesn't hurry up I'll just find another mech to help me out."

All eyes and optics turned to the newcomer. The Autobot was a little taller than Bumblebee with a body plan not unlike the scout's. However, she was more toward an hourglass figure than the youngling's. The blue roof and windshield of her alternate mode gave her an obvious bust. The face was built like Optimus' but the features were smaller and more feminine even to the humans' eyes.

She strode over to Ironhide and leaned into the warrior. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too." he murmured.

Will looked over at Optimus. "So does this mean I've got a guardian for my ladies too?"

Optimus glanced down at the captain. Like Mikaela, prolonged exposure to the Cybertronians had made him more laid back with them. "If Chromia accepts the position. Though I see why not. She adores babies of any species."

Chromia turned. "I heard mention of children?"

"See?" Optimus said indulgently.

Chromia walked out of Ironhide's arms. "Sir," she said with a nod to Optimus, "It's good to see you again."

"It is good to see you as well." he replied. "Tell me, do you have news of _Elite-Femme_?"

The humans looked confused. "She was leading us here." Chromia explained. "Unfortunately, we were forced to approach from different angles and ended up far-flung due to an unexpected meteor. On my way down I slammed into what I assume was a satellite and it knocked me into a trajectory that caused a strong impact."

Optimus nodded. "So you really have no idea where she is?"

"Yes."

Optimus stood for a moment before everyone noticed his shoulders noticeably droop. Sam sent Mikaela a look. "She's his girlfriend." Mikaela whispered back.

"Oh."

Lennox leaned in. "So Ironhide's not the only one with a sweetheart running around?"

"Nope."

Chromia glanced down at the whispering humans before looking back up at Optimus. "Would you like to begin a search effort?"

Optimus nodded. "But not just for her. Who else was in your team?"

"Well, me, _Elite-Femme_, _Reconnaissance-Contact_, _Vibrations_, and _Override-Mechanism_."

"So we've got you and have those four to find." Optimus said with some doubt creeping into his voice.

"Can't you guys just call them or something?" Sam asked.

"It's not that easy." Ratchet answered. "We have to be extremely careful about our transmissions. Barricade, Scorponok, and Starscream are still at large."

Lennox perked up. "Speaking of, I've only got this weekend off, so would it be possible for me to head on home? Ironhide did sort of ambush me when I stepped off the plane."

Chromia knelt down. "You are the one with children?" she asked him.

"I have one girl and a baby on the way." Will stated proudly.

Chromia turned to Optimus. "May we? I'd like to see a human child in person."

Optimus nodded. "Go on."

Chromia transformed quickly in her excitement. She opened her driver side door. "Wanna ride with me or Hide?"

Will looked between the blue F150 and the larger Topkick. "Um . . . I think I'll stick with Ironhide right now."

Chromia's door shut with a soft click. "Then jump in! Time's a'wastin'!"

Will gave Ironhide a amused look. "She's really excited isn't she?"

"What can I say? My mate lives for three things - sparklings, battle, and me."

"In that order." she quipped. That earned a shot of exhaust from Ironhide.

"This should make home life interesting." Lennox muttered. He gave the others a friendly salute and then hopped into Ironhide's cab.


	4. Barricade's Recitativo

_**Additional Disclaimer:**__ I do not own the song "Good Morning Beautiful"_

**Chapter 4: Barricade's Recitativo**

_**Recitativo - **_**style of singing that is close to that of normal speech. Used in opera for dialogue and narration.**

* * *

Arcee opened her optics stealthily. She didn't want the psycho-bot to know she was awake. Upon doing a surroundings scan, she realized that was a completely pointless problem.

Barricade was recharging with his head in her lap. She had gone into recharge with her back against the far wall and her legs arranged over the edge of the berth in the cell. He was laid out on the berth, his head cradled in her lap.

Arcee tried not to move, not wanting to wake him. He had completely turned off the energy bars that had kept her caged, but she didn't want to risk them reactivating on a trap laser. From what she'd heard, that had been a popular prank Decepticons would pull on prisoners.

Instead she examined his head. The metal spikes that surrounded his face were dull from neglect and his optics looked like they could use a nice cleaning. She wondered if his insanity was due to his loosing Frenzy, but dismissed it. According to him, it had only been about three of this planet's stellar cycles ago and that was too soon for his mental instability to be due to that. It would take centuries Earth time for him to go insane.

She decided to wake him. "Barricade?"

His optics didn't snap on, but instead booted up slowly. They were very dim. Looking into those red orbs, she realized that he was completely relaxed with her, but that something was also something wrong physically. "_Good morning beautiful. How was your night? Mine was wonderful with you by my side._"

Arcee flinched away from him as the song came from his speakers. "Barricade _what is wrong with you? I am an enemy, not your mate._"

Barricade reached up and touched her face gently. Arcee froze. She couldn't believe his gall. "_But I don't want to be enemies._"

Arcee shook her head. "_You can't run from the truth._"

He sat up and sat against the wall with her. She couldn't help but notice that he was larger than her. He leaned over and wrapped an arm around her. "_Megatron is dead. All the Decepticons are dead. Do we really have to be enemies? I'm the only one left._"

Arcee couldn't stop her spark from breaking for him. "_Was that what drove you insane? Loneliness?_"

Before she could even think, Barricade had her by the shoulders. She was looking into blazing red optics, bright with health and sanity. "_Help me. The humans, they did something to me!_"

"_What did they do?_" she asked.

"_They captured me - Primus it was colder than the Pit! - and they strapped me down and they -_" he stopped, his entire manner screaming embarrassment.

"_They what?_" she prodded gently.

"_They uploaded something, but they used . . . The wrong port._" His engine growled.

"_Primus! They used . . . Your procreation port?_"

Cybertronians had two major information ports, one for general uploads and communication as well as one exclusively for use in data exchange for the creation of offspring. What had been done to Barricade was tantamount to rape. While Cybertronians didn't have sex like humans, this port was still viewed as sacrosanct for its function in reproduction.

"_Yes, the fraggers. What they uploaded is some kind of computer virus. It's messing with my systems._"

"_So all your declarations of love are blissfully slag?_"

Barricade gave her a mysterious look. "_Sure. But I need your help. I need you to get me to the humans called _Maggie Madsen _and _Glenn Whitman. _They can figure out how to stop the virus._"

"_Are you sure?_"

"_They were able to decode one of Frenzy's transmissions as well as figuring out how to stop a virus he planted in their computer networks. They can do the job._"

"_Why can't you find them yourself?_"

"_I'm a Decepticon remember? The moment I go out that door I'm hunted. But if you're with me, you can convince them to let _Maggie Madsen_ and _Glenn Whitman _help me. But we've got to move. This window to sanity won't last very long. An Earth _week _at most. After that, it's back to me spewing song lyrics at you and composing odes to your optics._"

"_Let's avoid that at all costs. Alright, I'm with you. Where do we start?_"

"_Don't worry, I know where to go, just stick close._"

"_Gotcha._"

He transformed quickly into his alternate mode, and Arcee clucked. She hadn't seen it when he had been chasing her, but his alternate mode was covered in grime and muck. "_Do we have time for you to get a bath? You need it. Badly._"

Barricade's engine rumbled but he only muttered. "_Primus help me with femmes who can't take a little mud. We don't have time and we don't have a human to help work the car washes they have here. You'll just have to wait until I get fixed._"

"_Okay, okay. Just saying._"

He led her out of the ramshackle building onto the small country road it ran next to. Arcee sped along at his side with millions of questions running through her mind, but she wisely stayed silent for a time.

* * *

Hunter Quinn finished the last pen stroke with a grunt of satisfaction. He'd finished the first chapter of his comic masterpiece. He held up the final page. Two robots faced each other in the midst of smoking buildings, both holding massive weapons. "Ready for the presses." he muttered.

He got up and went from his studio to his kitchen. His home was a small cabin out in the middle of the Colorado wilderness. He sort of liked it as opposed to the cramped lifestyle he'd led in Mission City. Hunter grabbed a soda from the fridge and went into his living room. He plopped down on the couch and turned on the TV.

"In other news . . ." The pretty news anchor droned on about wild fires in Florida and the candidates for that year's election. His attention was snapped back quick when she began on a new story. "A freak tidal wave caused minor damage in southeastern Louisiana Tuesday. The wave originated in the middle of a bayou and quickly spread out to the surrounding area."

The camera cut to an image of a pretty woman standing on a porch. The house behind her looked a little weathered, but it was the woman and the car to her right that caught his attention. He quickly Ti-Voed the broadcast.

"Well," the woman said in her pretty Southern accent, "I was just goin' out for a walk when the wave hit. I didn't see anythin' that could have caused it."

Hunter let the news run until the little bit was over, and then rewound until he got back to the woman and her car. He stared hard at the hood of the dark pink and white Mustang. There on its hood was a red symbol. He glanced up to his wall where two framed pictures hung. One was of a purple fox looking symbol, the other was of a stern looking, red face. The car had the red face on it.

Hunter glanced back to the woman. She had pretty tan skin and dark hair. Her eyes were large and wide, and in the news clip screaming nervousness. She had to know what she had sitting right next to her. She had to. The woman turned her head away from the newscaster in embarrassment of not being able to tell more, and showed off a hairline scar running down her face.

He rewound again and watched the bit one more time. He nodded when they finally revealed the lady's name. "Serena Marshall. Me'n'you have to talk." he murmured.

Just then the phone rang. "Ello?" he said into the receiver.

"Hello?" a quiet Dixie voice asked over the line. "May I speak to Mr. Hunter Quinn?"

Hunter looked up to the ceiling and thought, "There is a God.". "This is he."

"Oh, good. I'm calling about your website-"

"You have one of them with you."

"How did you know?"

"That news clip. I saw the red symbol on the hood of that car."

She was silent for a moment. "You saw the news." Her voice was full of shock and amusement.

"Yeah, they picked it up pretty quickly out here. Look, is there anywhere we can meet?"

She cleared her throat. "Um, I don't know. Can I come out to you?"

"Sure. Since you have my phone number, just call me when you get close."

"Okay. Thank you Mr. Quinn."

"Hunter."

She chuckled. "Hunter."

There was a click as she hung up. Hunter sat back on the couch and propped his feet up on the coffee table. He sipped his Coke and smiled. He was going to meet one in the flesh. He could feel it. He took another sip. He also wouldn't mind meeting that pretty Ms. Serena either.

* * *

The man stared at the monitors. "The alien is on the move."

Another man stood beside him. "And he has company. What will it take to recapture the cop car and get that motorcycle?"

A woman spoke up. "More resources than we currently have. One of our principle benefactors backed out when she saw what we'd done to - and I quote - the poor creature. She got cold feet." The last sentence was a snarl.

"Well, I do sort of feel bad. It sounded like he was screaming pretty loudly toward the end -" a small, mouse-looking man said from his seat at one of the monitors.

"Yeah, screaming obscenities in his language. Remember Jake, these are monsters." the first man snapped.

Jake curled in on himself but left it alone. On his monitor he chose a close up view of the motorcycle. "Please don't get caught."

* * *

Serena set down the receiver. "He invited us up. Ready to go?"

Elita shot a bit of exhaust from outside the kitchen window. "I've been ready since I landed. Let's rock'n'roll!"

Serena laughed and grabbed her suitcase. She hadn't felt this alive since . . . Since her mother died. Serena froze in the doorway. She was feeling alive, not guilty. For the first time in six months, she'd forgotten her mother.

"Serena? My scanners are picking up your distress. What's wrong?"

Serena's stricken eyes flew to the car. "I forgot my mother. With all the excitement, I forgot her."

Elita rolled around the house until she sat beside the porch. "What happened to her?"

Serena walked out and sat on the stairs. She stared at the dark pink car sitting before her. "We were out driving to the store one day. I had just moved in and Mom was helping me get situated. We were right at the edge of town when . . ." She squeezed her eyelids shut as she remembered the screech of metal on metal and her mother's last gargling scream of pain. "A drunk driver ran the last red light and plowed into us on the driver's side. I was driving, but by some miracle of fate I survived. I nearly lost half of my face from the shattered window glass, but I survived. Mom wasn't so lucky."

Elita-facsimile appeared and put her ghost arms around Serena. "I wish I could hug you for real." she murmured. "It's the ultimate cruelty to watch someone you love die."

Serena lifted tear filled eyes to Elita-facsimile. "Who did you lose?"

Elita looked to the swamp. "I lost my creator. My father if you will. My dame had long since been killed in the war, but my father should have out lived us all." A smile crossed the hologram's face. "Alpha Trion is a legend among Autobots for his exploits. I watched a Decepticon spear rip through his torso. I tried to save him, but it was in vain. He told me to run, to get away. The Decepticons would enjoy taking me apart piece by piece. They would use me as a - to use a human term - brood mare to create more Decepticons. They'd force me to upload whatever mech their leader favored this week's procreation data and spark a new soldier."

Serena sniffed and lifted a hand to dry her tears. "They'd rape you and force you to have their children."

Elita nodded. "To put it into approximate human terms, yes."

"That's awful."

"It is. I did what he told me and I ran. For the first few cycles I kicked myself, regretted my leaving, and wished he hadn't died. And then by some quirk of fate and a good bit of serendipity, it was while I was running that I met my love. Both my father and I were in the Autobot army, but that had been my first battle and I had been injured." Elita explained.

Serena sat up and shrugged off Elita-facsimile's arms. "Thanks. I think I needed that. Now, I'm ready to go find your boy. Mom would want me to do this." Serena shot Elita a smile. "She was an incurable romantic."

Elita-facsimile smiled. "Good. Let's go."

Serena jumped into the opened car door and patted the dash. "To Colorado and Mr. Quinn."

Elita revved her engine and pealed out of Serena's yard.

* * *

Figueroa bobbed his head along with the music. One perk of being chauffeured by a talking car, he didn't have to pay attention to the road. Another was the fact that he didn't have to pay for gas.

"Hey Fig, we're halfway there. We'll be in Texas soon." Jazz said over his speakers.

Fig grinned. "Man, this is fun. We should do this more often. You know, hang out and drive."

Jazz laughed aloud. "You say that because you don't actually have to drive."

"Well, yeah."

The two laughed some more.

Fig kicked back in the passenger's seat. He glanced over at the hologram sitting in the driver's seat. "I didn't really know you guys could do that."

Jazz-hologram slid him a look. "How'd you think Barricade, Bumblebee, and Blackout escaped detection? They used these babies to make people think that humans were behind the wheel."

Fig nodded. "Gotcha."

The two were silent awhile before Fig sighed. "Jazz, remember when we were talkin' about your girls?"

"Oh, you mean Cybertronian girls?"

"Yeah. Did you have a sweet heart you left at home?"

"Not really. Why?"

Fig stared up at Jazz's ceiling. "I dunno. I was just thinkin' about Will and Bobby. They had wives and kids to come home to and all I had was my Mama."

Jazz sighed. "Yeah, I had thoughts about that too. I mean, I'd see how Ironhide and Optimus would always come back to base and even when they were covered in energon and muck they'd just . . . Light up, ya know? And their femmes did the same. It was enough to make your spark swell, but I always felt a little left out."

"So what kept you going?"

Jazz was pensive for a moment. "They did. Before I was Prime's mission lieutenant I was the senior espionage officer. My teams gathered information as well as being some of the top front line soldiers we had. I lived every day to make sure that Elita and Optimus and Ironhide and Chromia would come home to each other. I lived to see Bumblebee hang out with the other mechs his age and to see Ratchet dance around his feelings for a certain little femme who was a part of Elita's usual convoy."

Fig smiled. "I guess it was the same for me. Do all I could for my country, but most importantly for my friends."

"From the ultimate selfishness comes the ultimate selflessness."

Fig glanced over at Jazz. "Wha?"

"It's something an old mech by the name of Alpha Trion used to say. His creation - uh, daughter - Elita says it all the time. It means that someone will do something heroic and selfless because they have a very selfish motive. For example, you'd lay down your life for Lennox, right?"

"Well, yeah."

"Well, that's a selfish thing. _You_ don't want Lennox to die because you selfishly want him to live. You don't take into account his whims or wants."

"But he'd want to live too."

"Yes, but not at the expense of your life."

Fig was speechless for a moment. Jazz went on. "I don't really half understand it myself really, but Alpha said it all the time. He said that if you begin to understand it, you understand how the universe really hangs together."

There was a short silence.

"Dude, my head hurts now."

Jazz laughed. "Primus, me and you have to be spark brothers. When he first explained it to me, that's what I said!"

* * *


	5. Dance of Ironies

**Chapter 5: Dance of Ironies**

_**Dance: **_**to move rhythmically to music**

* * *

The universe can be a funny place. Here we are in the middle of a tapestry that has several different threads running through it to complete a picture that not even the storyteller can see yet, but still funny things happen.

It was midmorning on a sunny, Texas day. The interstate was buzzing with light traffic, a few commuters and people on longer trips. We find our set of comic heroes, Jazz and Figueroa, traveling the eastern route heading onward to Fig's mother and to their larger part in the ballet to come.

Heading toward them on the western route was our set of heroines, Elita-1 and Serena. The two females are traveling to see Hunter Quinn in order to find others of Elita's kind. Ironic that their search would bring them here.

And on an interstate going north, that just happens to travel under the east-west route the above two pairs are on, we find our set of unlikely heroes, heading northeast to Washington D.C. and Barricade's only hope. Arcee and Barricade look like two more drivers, holograms giving both drivers and Barricade a more nondescript paint job.

All three pairs are heading toward one another, and they are sure to collide. Even on different routes and different missions, different lives are coming together in one of the universe's funny coincidences and happenings.

Fig looked out his window. He sees a sweet looking pink Mustang roar down the opposite highway and hopes a cop doesn't catch the chick he spied behind the wheel. Jazz-facsimile looks over the wall of the overpass to see a sexy little motorcycle speeding down the road under him.

Serena glances out the window to see a sleek silver car pass. She notes the handsome Latino and the suave black man inside. She glances out her window to watch a black Saleen Mustang go under them. Elita-facsimile glances over at the silver car and wonders why she feels such familiarity.

Arcee's curiosity causes her to use her facsimile to look around her at all times. She just happened to glance up before entering the overpass, and saw a silver car go by. Barricade didn't notice, but as he left the overpass, he noted the sexy Mustang going to the west. He briefly thought of what he'd do with a femme that had an alt mode like that.

In a set of events that can at best be called comical and at worst disgraceful, all of the mentioned heroes pass right by each other with barely a thought to each other. Onward they all ride to destiny and toward the ballet to come.

* * *

Optimus glanced over at Mikaela. The woman was working diligently on the accounts for her business. He'd engaged his facsimile to better observe through her office window as the painters finished up the semi they'd gotten that morning. Green flames were licking at the white skulls that ringed the nose and cab of the truck.

"Interesting design." he commented.

Mikaela looked up. "It's what the owner wanted." She smiled at the forty-ish man who was standing by the window. Optimus had chosen an apt facsimile - an older looking man with short brown hair and a pair of small glasses. She grinned wider when she thought about the inspiration behind the look. "So Indy, ready for your weekly wash?"

Optimus chuckled. He and his men had taken inspiration for the looks of their facsimiles from popular movies and musicians. Jazz had taken a liking to Bob Marley as far as wearing dreads and brightly colored clothes, Bumblebee chose to resemble one of the street racers from _The Fast and the Furious_, Ironhide decided that he'd like the physique of the Rock but with more hair on his head, Ratchet was masquerading as a blond Patrick Dempsey, and Optimus had gotten shanghaied into becoming a Harrison Ford/Indiana Jones look alike.

Optimus-facsimile nodded and rolled his shoulders. "I am indeed."

Mikaela got up and stuck her head into the adjoining office. "Hey Kelli, I'm going to give Flamie his weekly wash."

Kelli looked up from her desk. "Hey, could you come here for a minute?"

Mikaela strode over to her helper's desk. "Yeah?"

Optimus-facsimile leaned against the doorjamb to watch. Every so often he saw Kelli's eyes come to up to glance at him.

"Thanks Micky." she said. Then Kelli leaned closer. "Hey, does Mr. Hunky over there have a name?"

Mikaela giggled. "Oh, Mr. Hunky hunh?"

Kelli blushed. "Well scweeze me!" she whispered. "I have a thing for older guys ya'know. And he is totally hot."

Mikaela just laughed. "His name is Peter. And sorry Kelli, but he's taken."

Kelli made a moue with her lips. "That sucks."

Mikaela stood up and shook her head. "Sorry." She got up and walked back toward Optimus with an amused grin on her face. She led him outside and was almost to his true body when she began to laugh uproariously. Optimus-facsimile jumped into the cab. His holographic form was shut down and the framework folded neatly out of sight as Mikaela jumped into the cab as well. "She thinks you're hot!"

"And I take it that's a thing of great hilarity?" he asked through his speakers as he started up his engine.

"Its just that it's you." Mikaela wheezed. "I just can't see you being . . . .hot. Noble, yes. Fatherly, yes. Hot? No."

Optimus chuckled. "And on Cybertron I was considered handsome." he said calmly.

"I didn't say I didn't think your hologram wasn't handsome!" Mikaela said. "Or your real self for that matter. You look wicked-cool when you transform and in this truck form, but I can't see you as . . . Attractive."

"But then again you also know that I'm a robot." he rejoined.

"Yeah."

They drove over to Mikaela's home, a place her parents had given her for a graduation from college gift. Her father had gotten a job at a car dealership that tried to help felons make something of themselves and had saved up enough money while her mother had cut back on a lot of necessities to help put away money for it as well. Mikaela's home was her pride and joy, and Optimus loved the fact that she let him take over the garage. It was out past the suburbs and was actually on land that used to belong to Captain William Lennox. He had given Mikaela the land as a present because he'd felt better to have Mikaela close to Sarah and Annabelle.

She parked him in the backyard and ran inside to get out all the paraphernalia she'd need. She grabbed her hose and thoroughly wetted him down and then broke out the car soap.

Mikaela enjoyed hand washing the Autobots because they acted as if washing was God's gift to them. When it came to washing, just as with everything else, each had their own quirks. Bumblebee would sink low on his axles, and often the little scout would end up nearly touching the ground. Jazz would start playing Stevie Wonder and Barry Manilow - which had completely freaked out Bobby Epps the first time it happened - and start singing along. Ironhide would go into recharge and much to Will's amusement, would start snoring. Ratchet kept up a running commentary to his assigned washer telling the person where to wash and what strength to use where.

Out of all of them though, Mikaela liked washing Optimus the best because his quirk was the most adorable one out of the mix. The first time he'd been washed, the boys had started rolling on the ground with laughter while Sarah and Mikaela had giggled and smiled as they scrubbed his doors. The other Autobots had thought nothing of it, so maybe they were used to it or it was a common reaction to a good bath, but as Optimus started it up now in Mikaela's backyard, she couldn't help but grin and give his grill a little scratch-scrub.

Optimus Prime purred.

His nose vibrated like a cat's throat from his engine giving the sound. Mikaela felt like she was scrubbing down a lion or something. "I take it that feels really good?" she asked.

"Yessss." he purred. "Could you get right under my wheel housing? There's some grit or some . . . . Ahhhhhhhh."

"You are so easy to please." she murmured as she scrubbed at his wheels.

Optimus just kept on purring.

* * *

Arcee glanced over to Barricade. They'd been traveling for an entire day and she felt the need to recharge. "_Hey, can we stop_?"

"_You need rest_?"

"_Yes._"

"_Weak._" he growled. "_We've only been moving for twenty-four hours._"

"_Well, excuuuuuuuuse me! I'm not a front line soldier dipstick_! _I'm a medic_!"

"_Even medics should last longer than that_!"

Suddenly Arcee pulled a turn off the back road they were on that left the asphalt black and smoking. Barricade revved his engine in anger and went after her. "Arcee! _Get your aft back here_!"

"_No you slagging jerk_!" she cried. "_You can just go on and find your _Maggie Madsen _and _Glenn Whitman! _I'm through_!"

She transformed and sat down in a huff beside a tree. Barricade did a flying transformation and stalked over to her. "_We don't have time for this_!"

"_Correction, _you_ don't have time for this_!"

The growl that issued from Barricade's vocalizer should have chilled Arcee to the struts, and would have under normal circumstances. It took enormous force of will for her not to even flinch. She expected him to crush her like a fly for her childishness, but instead she felt a gentle hand under her chin plate. He turned her face to his and blue optics met red. "_I know you must hate me _Arcee _but we must get to _Madsen_ and _Whitman. _The humans who did this to me aren't just targeting Decepticons. They'll go after you Autobots next._"

Arcee stared into his optics. "_How can I believe you? Decepticons use trickery. By your doctrine, honor and honesty mean nothing."_

"_You're right, but I'm way past Decepticons and Autobots. I couldn't give a slag about the war - Megatron is dead and _Starscream_ will probably follow him soon, especially if Sound-Carrier is still active. I actually enjoyed the little time I had free before the humans found me. I mourned _Frenzy_ but I was free. No superior officers, no battles to fight, no war. Yeah, I had to run from Autobots, but that was because I knew they'd offline me as soon as they saw me._"

Arcee shook free of his hand and pulled away. "_So you don't hate Autobots anymore_?"

"_When you're alone, you have plenty of time to think._" He sat down across from her. _"No, I don't really hate Autobots anymore. I still have a low opinion of you, but I don't hate you. Don't think I ever really did. I was like a great many Decepticons - I was just in the war because I liked a good fight. But after so many years of nonstop battle, it gets old. I'm not Megatron or _Starscream_ or any of those Decepticons that hate Autobots for their ideals or out of jealousy. You were all just targets to kill._"

She nodded. "_I can accept that. It's certainly a mercenary enough attitude for you to be believable."_

A flash of amusement lit his optics. "_Right now I don't give a flying fragger -_"

"_A _Starscream."

"_What?_"

"_Autobots don't say 'flying fragger' anymore. We say a '_Starscream'."

Barricade laughed uproariously at that. "_Well, I don't give a _Starscream _about factions. There is a threat to all Cybertronians and I, for one, am all for taking them out._"

Arcee nodded. "_Okay. I'll still help you, but I really need recharge. I just got here so I haven't had energon -_"

"_Why didn't you tell me?!_" Barricade popped open a compartment in his left leg. Carefully her removed a small cube and handed it to her. "_As they say here on Earth _bon appetite."

Arcee felt her optics crinkle at his purposeful slaughtering of the phrase in that atrocious accent. "_Thank you._"

* * *

Serena glanced out the window at the darkening sky. "Do you need to stop?" Elita asked.

"Nah. Nature isn't calling and I can sleep in here." she answered.

Elita-facsimile nodded.

Serena kept looking at the sunset. "Hey Elita, how did you meet your Optimus?"

Elita laughed. "On a battlefield."

"Story of your life?"

"Yep. But I told you how I found him back at your house."

Serena nodded. "Yeah, but how?"

Elita-facsimile sighed. "While I was retreating from the Decepticons, one of the buildings I was running next to decided then was a lovely time to collapse. A strut pinned my leg and knocked me into stasis." Elita-facsimile's head turned to Serena. "That's like a human being knocked unconscious. Anyway, I woke to find myself in the arms of the handsomest mech I'd ever seen."

"Handsomest?"

"Yes. By a long shot." Elita glanced over at her. "What? We do have concepts of beauty and ugliness too."

"Okay. So he was hot."

"Oh yeah. He was carrying me like a protoform. I remember he tried his hardest to keep me alive. And when I found out he was the Autobot Commander in Chief I about flipped."

"I can just imagine." Serena said with a smile.

"Yeah, so he got me back to the main base and had me fixed up. I was in for a few cycles and then he ups and offers me a position there. Well, I knew that I hadn't earned it so I turned it down. I knew he just wanted to keep me around so he could see me again."

Serena laughed. "Good girl!"

"Yeah, so he insists. Says I was more than qualified. I said no, I hadn't earned it yet. That kept up for several vorns, and we had books all over the planet betting on who would prevail."

"So he kept you up on the base the entire time?"

"Yep. For once in his life, noble Optimus Prime was underhanded. He had Ratchet keep me on medical leave under a bogus diagnosis."

"The dick."

Elita laughed uproariously. "Well, he did a have a little of his brother in him. He was relentless! So, I gave in under one condition."

Serena grinned. "He had to grovel at your feet in front of his friends?"

Elita laughed. "Primus I love you! I should of thought of that! But no, I told him that he'd have to let me bring in several of my best comrades. Turned out that his men were all too happy about that seeing as I brought in the only group of femmes on the main base. My best friend Chromia ended up mated to one of Optimus' right hand men."

"Well, as long as everyone was happy."

"They were, especially those who'd bet on Optimus."

Serena laughed and then glanced at her friend's facsimile. "That is one of the best love stories I've ever heard. No angst, no fuss, just the two of you butting heads."

Elita-facsimile nodded. "We enjoyed ever moment of it too. I'm one of the few people that ever back talked him. He liked that."

Serena glanced at the stars. "You said he had a little bit of his brother in him. Who's his brother?"

Elita-facsimile's face hardened. "Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons."

Serena's eyes widened. "He was fighting against his brother?"

"Yes. This was a civil war that truly ripped families in twain."

"So, they had the same creators?"

"Yes. Both were created by Sentinel Prime and his mate. Their express purpose was to protect the Allspark and Cybertron." Elita let out a scornful laugh. "You see how well that turned out."

Elita shook her head. "But I can't blame Sentinel for trying. He thought he was doing something in the best interests of Cybertron. He was trying to do his duty."

"But the road to hell was paved with good intentions." Serena murmured.

"Unfortunately, yes."


	6. Accelerando

**Chapter 6: Accelerando **

_**Accelerando**_** - gradually faster**

* * *

Arcee felt something pull her from recharge. That something just happened to be a large, black and white police car with attitude. "_Wake up. You've been out for at least four _hours. _That's enough for now. We need to keep moving._"

Arcee said something so nasty that Barricade raised an optic shutter. "_My, my, you're certainly not a morning mech._"

"_Four _Earth hours _is not nearly enough recharge._"

"_For our purposes, yes._"

Arcee grumbled but transformed. "_I'll go quietly on one condition._"

"_Oh Primus help me._"

"_I get to ask as many questions as I like._"

Barricade transformed and revved his engine. "_I guess I can deal with that._"

Arcee and he transformed and got onto the road. "_So, why did you become a Decepticon?_"

"_Because my creators were. They put it into my basic programming, and when I became independent of them I kept it. I saw no reason to change my programming._"

"_Oh._" she murmured. "_I didn't think._"

"_There is a pattern emerging._"

Arcee revved her engine. "_So funny. Okay, why did you bond with _Frenzy?"

"_Because he was amusing. Very annoying, but I . . . He was like a little brother. I sort of liked taking care of him._"

This brought Arcee up a little short. "_You loved him didn't you?_"

Barricade's engine shut off and he rolled behind her. Arcee was forced to execute a killer 180. "Barricade _I didn't mean to cause you -_"

"_Shut. Up._"

Arcee bristled. "_Look, I know it hurts you, but I was just saying. You loved him and it hurts._"

Barricade drove off the road and transformed. He turned back to Arcee. "_He was my brother. He was apart of me. I loved him like no one else._"

Arcee reached out, but wisely didn't touch Barricade. "_I'm so sorry for your loss _Barricade. _Not even Decepticons deserve that kind of heartache._"

Barricade stared at her for a moment before he reached out and touched the hand she had extended.

* * *

Serena looked around the seedy diner nervously. She really wondered why Hunter had told her to meet him here. Elita-facsimile smiled at her nervous friend. "Don't worry. None of my scans indicate that any of these people have hostile intentions."

Serena smiled back. "Your scans hunh? I though only your medics could do that."

Elita-facsimile winked. "I'm just talented."

Serena laughed and felt a tap on her shoulder. "Yes?" she asked as she turned.

"Ms. Serena Marshall?"

"Mr. Hunter Quinn?"

Elita-facsimile tried not to laugh out loud. She could tell by the way the two young humans were staring at each other that they were attracted. She took the time to examine the young man before her. Hunter was of medium height with fair skin. His face was one of those that wasn't handsome but wasn't ugly either. His features were more regular than not and his eyes were a pleasant shade of brown. His hair was a plain, mousy brown as well. All in all, he wasn't handsome or even striking, Hunter was just plain.

"This is my friend . . ." Serena said gesturing to Elita.

Hunter was also intelligent. "A holo? "Yes." Elita answered.

Hunter's eyes bugged out. "This is so awesome!"

Elita chuckled at his excitement. "Yes, it's quite lovely to meet you." she said. "I am glad to meet you as well. I want to ask your help."

Hunter slid into the booth and smiled at the waitress. "My usual Dory."

"Okay Hunter. What about you ladies?"

Elita held up a hand. "Nothing for me please."

"Um, can I just get a Coke?"

"Sure dear." She smiled at Hunter. "Yours is coming right up."

The three watched her walk away before continuing their conversation. "So, what do you need me for?" Hunter asked.

Elita leaned forward. "You were at Mission City."

"Yeah."

"Did you . . . Did one of them call himself Optimus Prime?"

Hunter sat back and shook his head. "I only heard two names. One of the kids kept referring to the yellow one that got injured as 'Bumblebee'. I think the guy also yelled 'Ratchet' a couple of times, but after that I ran."

Elita-facsimile closed her eyes and sighed with a smile. "Ratchet and Bumblebee . . . Those are not the names that I know them by, but I know who they probably are. Bumblebee sounds like _Happiness-In-Accomplishments_, a scout that is rather sunny, much like his new name. If the boy was calling one to the injured, then Ratchet must be _Tool-that-Tightens_ the medic."

Hunter looked poleaxed. "Screechy-screech?"

Serena laughed. "That's what I said."

"The point is, I think I know these two and both were in Optimus' entourage."

"So, find them, we find him?" Serena said.

"Yes."

The waitress returned and gave Hunter his food and Serena her drink. "So, where are you guys from?" Hunter asked as he dug into his burger.

"Cybertron." Elita said with a sigh. "Our planet died a long time ago, and we dispersed to find the artifact that would revive it, the Allspark. My team and I came here when we received a transmission that told us that our leader was here and he said that this planet was to be our new home."

Hunter nodded. "So I'm right. The American Government is facilitating your race's invasion."

"It's not really an invasion. More like a migration. We - well, at least my faction - come in peace. We Autobots merely wish to watch over your race in exchange for allowing us to live here. It's the Decepticons you need to worry about."

Hunter chewed thoughtfully. "Do the Decepticons wear a symbol that looks a little like a fox?"

Serena looked confused but Elita nodded. "You've seen it?"

"I have a drawing of two symbols, the one you wear and the foxy looking one."

Elita-facsimile smiled. "Impressive. Would you like to come with us?"

Serena looked like she had just been hit in the back of the head with a baseball bat. Hunter looked surprised as well. "I'd love to."

"Good. We could use you." She nodded to the waitress.

Hunter kept eating in silence as Serena sipped her soda. "So, you live in Louisiana?" he started.

"Yeah." she said, her Southern accent deepening in her nervousness.

Hunter poked his burger. "Well, this is awkward." he muttered.

Elita laughed. "Ah, young love."

Both snapped their heads up and glared at her. "What? I call em like I see em. That's another thing Optimus loves about me."

"So, what's this Optimus dude to you?" Hunter asked.

Elita-facsimile flashed her left hand. Hunter's eyes bugged out when he saw the wedding ring. "Wow, he's your husband?"

"Yes. He's my mate."

"Holy guacamole."

Elita-facsimile laughed. "Well, holy something. That's why I really must find him."

Hunter gave Serena a look. "And who are we to stand in the way of love?"

Serena blushed prettily. "Are you flirting with me?"

Hunter leaned forward. "Actually, I'm angling for a date, but hey, mondo quest to find Elita's mate-husband-boyfriend-thing is good enough for me."

Serena and Elita laughed. "Well, your humor ought to help the wait." Elita said.

* * *

Jazz examined the house that he was sitting in front of. "Nice place."

Fig smiled as he took a big breath of air. "It's home."

Jazz-facsimile nodded and walked behind Fig as he approached the door. The house was small, barely a double wide, but it did look like a place that Fig would be comfortable in. Fig knocked on the door politely.

The door opened to admit a woman of about sixty or so. She looked wise and gentle, but Jazz spied the gleam in her eye that told him that she was a strong-willed woman. "Jorge!" she cried, seeing her son.

"Ah, Mama!" he answered as he hugged her close. "I've missed you!"

"And I you!" She looked past him to Jazz-facsimile. "And who's your friend?"

"Mama, this is my friend . . . Jazz."

Mama Fig smiled and motioned Jazz-facsimile inside. "Come inside!" She turned back to prepare some refreshments. Jazz turned his eyes to Fig.

"Hi Ma, this is my friend Jazz!"

"What?!"

"Do you have an ounce of creativity? Do you? You know, so you could give me a _normal human name_!"

"What, she'll think it's a nick!"

Jazz-facsimile had the grace to head-palm. "Primus why am I friends with you?"

Fig gave a sarcastic grin. "Because of my sparkling personality."

Jazz slapped Fig's head as the two men walked inside. The interior was clean and tidy with walls filled with pictures and shelves of knickknacks and mementos. Jazz-facsimile smiled as he sat at Mama Fig's table. She set before him a plate of cookies and some coffee. "Welcome to my home Jazz. So, you're a friend of Jorge hum?"

"Yes ma'am." Jazz answered. He took a cookie and bit off of it, thanking Primus that he'd remembered to add a food intake tube to the facsimile frame so that he could eat without the food just dropping through him.

"Were you in his company in the Army?" she asked next.

"No, I met him in physical therapy. I was wounded severely in battle and we were in the hospital together." It was true to a point. Both had met while recovering from their wounds.

"So you were in the Army too though?"

"I wasn't an Army Ranger though." Jazz stated.

Mama Fig new by the glint in her son's eye that she was getting into confidential territory. "Well, I'm glad you're in better health then. So, what brings the two of you here?"

"I wanted to visit and Jazz agreed to come with." Fig said.

"Ah. How long will the two of you be stayin'?"

Fig and Jazz shared a look. "Unless Jazz gets called back, a week maybe."

Mama Fig nodded. She smiled at the dark skinned man sitting next to her son. "You're still in?"

"Yes ma'am, though at the moment in a back up capacity."

"Well, you caught me by surprise so I don't have two rooms ready, but we can remedy that! I'll just give my neighbor a call and we'll fix you up in a jiffy!" Mama Fig rose and shuffled to the phone on the wall. "That Serena is such a sweet girl. She helps me out a lot. Shame about her poor mother though."

"What happened to her mother?" Fig asked.

"Died in a wreck. Poor Serena was completely distraught." Mama Fig clucked. "Survivor's guilt you know."

Fig nodded to Jazz. "Serena and her mother moved in a couple years ago after Serena's parents split and she started college. I've met her a couple of times. Nice girl and pretty easy on the eyes."

Jazz grinned. "I see."

Mama Fig made a sound in her throat. "Hum, no one's answerin'. Maybe she's out in the bayou. A lot of people have been going out trying to find that meteorite."

"What meteorite?" Fig asked, puzzled.

Mama Fig gave her son a reproving look. "You mean you didn't hear? What's wrong with you boah?"

"We were listening to CDs the entire way here ma'am. No news radio." Jazz explained.

"Well, a few days ago a meteorite landed in the bayou, and caused this big tidal wave! But when they found the crater there was nothin' left of the meteorite. People been out lookin' for it ever since."

Jazz sat up a little straighter. He had a sneaking suspicion about that crater. "So, where's the crater?"

Mama Fig pointed toward the south. "Straight thataway. Jorge can find it for you if you're curious."

Jazz nodded. "I'd like to see it."

Fig was catching onto Jazz's meaning. "Sure. We can go tomorrow. Tonight we'll help Mama fix up our rooms."

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

"_Well this is great._"

"_Could be worse. We could be stuck in that muck we landed in._"

"_You always could look on the bright side Vibrations._"

"_And you were always pessimistic Override-Mechanism._"

The sleek sports car revved her engine. "_We can't all be so sunny as you._"

The motorcycle at her side vibrated with mechanical laughter. "_Right you are._"

"_Where are we?_"

"_This _GPS_ thing says we are in _Newfoundland, Canada."

"_And where did the signal from First-and-Best come from_?"

"_Cross matching says _Tranquility, California, United States of America."

"_How long until we arrive_?"

"_Going nonstop, about ten _days_._"

"_This ought to be fun._"

* * *

Starscream stared down at the newest crater on the moon with an expression that at best could be called sardonic and at worst downright mean. He watched with a tilt to his head as the newcomer transformed. His worst fears were confirmed when it turned out to be the last Decepticon he ever wanted to see.

"_Thunder-Blast_." he growled.

"_Hello Star-Screamer._" she returned with a purr. "_Did you miss me_?"

"_Like I miss Megatron._" he snapped in reply.

"_You wound me, lover._" Thunderblast leaned into him and wrapped her arms around the back of his head. "_The last time you saw me you were glad to see me._"

"_The last time you saw me, you were providing me a vital service._"

"_And your pleasure is always vital._" she snapped.

"_Why are you here_?"

Thunderblast's malignant red optics brightened. " _I was chasing that glitch Elite-Femme. I have a score to settle with her._"

Starscream's optics narrowed. "_Elite-Femme is here_?"

Thunderblast saw that look and knew what he was thinking. "_Yes. I was chasing her and she must have received First-and-Best's lovely message._"

Starscream turned and stared at the Earth rising on the horizon. "_Then this is my chance. I can use her to destroy _Prime _and at the same time take her as my own._"

Thunderblast seethed inwardly. "_Why take someone who will not bend to you Star-Screamer_? _She will not consent to you._"

But Starscream did not listen as he plot numerous ways to destroy his enemy and fulfill the lust he'd had ever since he'd fought one femme so long ago.


	7. Trouble Trio

**_Author's Note_:**_I just wanted to let you know how truly annoying it is to transform the Barricade figure I just bought. His poor right foot kept popping off. Anywho, thanks to all of you readers, and specially thanks to Sinead for her running commentary, even when she gets the names wrong._

* * *

**Chapter 7: Trouble Trio**

_**Trio: **_**the third section of a march written in a contrasting style.**

* * *

Maggie Madsen watched the couple with blatant curiosity. The young man seemed to be shy yet protective. He was scanning the crowd like an eagle but he got flustered every time the girl grabbed his arm and pointed to another thing in the small group of kiosks that were stationed not far from the food court. However, whenever the girl was busy mooning over another item, he would give her such a warm look that Maggie could feel her teeth rotting from the sweetness.

Glen glanced up from his burger to follow her eyes. "What, jealous?"

Maggie pursed her lips and gave Glen a rather nasty look. "No, just curious. You don't see a lot of people like them running around."

Glen swallowed. "Nah, I guess you don't see people running around in biking leathers."

Maggie gave Glen a curious glance. "What?" he asked, "I've seen _Torque_."

Maggie shook her head. "You are so weird Glen."

"You know you love it."

Maggie just shook her head and took a bite of her burger. Glen followed suit but stopped halfway to his mouth. "Uh-oh. Looks like we've got company."

Maggie looked up to see the man and his girl coming toward them. Something made her frown though. The man had dark crimson eyes, but the girl's were a painfully familiar blue. She felt the color drain from her face and watched the knowledge flash across theirs.

"Maggie Madsen and Glen Whitman I presume?" the man asked.

Both stiffened. "How'd you know our names?" Maggie whispered, her eyes darting around the crowded food court.

The girl smacked her companion on the head surprising the seated friends as well as her erstwhile comrade. "Smooth move idiot! Real great way of asking for help!"

The man took the chiding in stride but he didn't take his eyes from the seated couple. "Are you they?" he asked again.

"Yeah, what's it to ya?" Glen blustered.

The man cast the boy a look. "I need your help." he stated simply.

Maggie grabbed her tray. "Come on Glen." She nearly dragged her friend over to the trash cans, all the while aware of the eyes following her. "I think they're Transformers Glen." She was aware that his cockamamie name for the alien robots would catch his attention.

Glen choked. "You gotta be kidding me."

"Glen, I told you that they have holographic technology. The one called Ratchet showed me. They have collapsible frames that they can use to explore. That's what those two are!"

Glen glanced around wildly around. "What do we do?"

Maggie glanced back at the pair. The man was staring at them, his eyes full of such of mixture of emotions that Maggie couldn't decipher them all. His eyes were crimson, but she was sure that he meant the two of them no harm. What's more, the girl was silently stroking his arm, a very human gesture of reassurance. She was staring too, but her eyes were easier to interpret. Hope shone vividly in the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. The blue eyes of an Autobot.

Maggie walked back over to the couple leaving Glen to follow behind like a puppy. "Alright, but first, state your names and factions."

The man and woman shared a look. "Barricade, Decepticon." the man murmured.

"Arcee, Autobot." the woman said.

Maggie raised an eyebrow. "I'd really love to know how you two got together." she said, pointedly glancing at their linked hands. When both looked down and realized what they were doing, the two snatched back their hands.

"It's of no consequence." Barricade snarled. "But I do need your help."

Maggie breathed deep and let it out slowly. "What's the problem?"

Barricade gestured for them to follow. Maggie and Glen fell in step with Barricade and Arcee as they made their way out of the mall. "I was captured by humans not long ago." Barricade said.

"Sector Seven?"

"No. Some sort of rogue organization that has to have former agents with them. They knew how to freeze me in such a way that I couldn't move. They introduced some sort of virus to my system. I causes me to become completely insane for periods of time. Fortunately, I can control it somewhat, but not for long."

Maggie and Glen shared a look. "How insane, may I ask?" Maggie inquired.

Arcee giggled. "So insane that he'll begin to compose sonnets to my optics."

Barricade growled and Glen looked confused. Maggie, however, versed as she was in the ways of the female mind understood the humor. "So why would he compose them to you?"

"Probably because I was the first femme he came across." she said airily.

"I did-"

Arcee swung around to face him. "You did?"

Barricade-facsimile flushed to indicate his embarrassment. "Never mind." her growled.

Arcee-facsimile grinned at Maggie and leaned close. "I think he has a crush on me."

Maggie giggled and shook her head. Barricade growled again. "Okay," Maggie began, "We're going to need to get the two of you over to Glen's. We've got the diagnostics we'll need at his place and I take it you guys don't want to involve the government."

"Not yet." Barricade said. "I want to get fixed before I face the Autobots."

Glen finally got up the nerve to speak again. "What are you going to do?"

Barricade cast a look at the other man. "I'm going to surrender."

* * *

Hunter glanced over at Serena for the hundredth time. Serena glanced back just a moment later. Elita was trying not to laugh.

"So where to first?"

Hunter stroked his chin. "I don't really know. We could try Mission City."

Elita-facsimile shook her head. "I don't think so. They wouldn't stick around there. Isn't there anywhere else to look?"

Hunter sat back and sighed. "We could try Tranquility." he murmured.

"Where?" "It's a town in southern California. I traced the kids I saw in Mission City to Tranquility."

Elita revved her engine. "Then to Tranquility it is."

* * *

Jazz stared at the crater and let out a stream of Cybertronian curses. "Ah, Fig man, I can't believe we did this!"

Fig looked monumentally confused. "Did what? I seem to remember us coming to check this thing out."

"Dude, I'm still reading an energy signature off this thing. Optimus is going to flip a lid when he finds out!"

"Is that a good or bad thing?"

"Majorly good. According to my sensors this energy signature is confirmed as that of Elite-Femme-One, Femme Commander of the Autobots."

Fig was unimpressed. "Who?"

Jazz's massive metal shoulders slumped. "OP's broad numb-nuts."

Fig whistled. "Oh yeah."

Jazz looked around hopefully. It had been hell for him to walk through the swamp, but it would have been worse to drive through the mud and muck. "First, let's get back and get all the crap outta my servos. Then, we've got to get into contact with Optimus and break the news. After that, it's up to the big mech what we'll do."

"Hum, too bad you won't be able to carry out that plan." a seductive voice purred from behind Jazz.

The silver mech whirled around and promptly let fly more curses. "Well, well, well, if it ain't my old friend Thunderblast."

The femme shook her head. "The pleasure, as always, is mine, Jazz." She leveled a cannon in the espionage specialist's face. "And this time dear, do us all a favor and stay offline."

The bayou resounded with the shot.

* * *

Jake gulped. He was so dead if the rest of the Association found out about what he was about to do. He flipped on the com device that they had lifted from the alien they had captured. "Um, I'm looking for . . . ."

"Who is this?"

Jake started at the sharp voice. "Um, Jake."

"Jake, how did you get this frequency?" the deep voice asked, much gentler this time.

"Look, that's not important. Are you a . . . . An Autobot?"

"Yes, but how did you -"

"Listen to me!" Jake hissed. "You and your people are in extreme danger! Look out for something called the Association for the Study and Containment of Extraterrestrials! If they get their mitts on any more of you guys they'll kill you!"

"Jake, my turn. Listen to me. I need you to tell me where you are."

"Look, I can't. I'm going into hiding now, but I can't tell you."

"Jake, wait -"

"Look I've got to -"

"My name is Optimus Prime. If you ever need me, call."

Jake stared at the device. "Thank you sir. Jake out."

Jake sat for a long time staring at the device. He slowly let it drop. Carefully, he stepped on it, grinding it into the floor. He then picked up his jacket and hurried out. He knew that the Association would be looking for him all too soon. He glanced behind him to the floor in front of his desk.

Optimus Prime. Jake remembered the gentle yet authoritative voice. "I would call, but I won't let them hurt another living being."

* * *

Chromia had been a hit. Sarah enjoyed the facsimile's company and Chromia adored little Annabelle. Ironhide was also now making headway with Sarah Lennox as he was less taciturn and snappish with his wise cracking mate around.

"Chromia, you are a doll." Sarah said after she walked into the house. Chromia had volunteered to baby-sit while Sarah and Will had gone out for their anniversary.

"It was nothing. Airdive was asleep most of the time."

Sarah smiled at the endearment. Chromia had begun giving all her favorite humans "Cybertronian" monikers as pet names. "Good, good."

Chromia smiled. "So how was dinner with Warhawk?"

"Good." Sarah's smile froze however. "But he's going back out tomorrow." Neither female needed to ask nor tell where Will was going.

Chromia-facsimile rose and hugged Sarah. It still amazed the woman that she was being hugged by a hologram. "It'll be alright Sereneyes. Warhawk is tough, he'll come back to you."

"You know when you all first arrived? Well, when Blackout attacked the SOCCENT base?" Sarah whispered.

"Yes?"

"When I was given the news, I felt so empty inside. I knew he was dead even though I told Annabelle otherwise, I knew he was dead. I was sure of it, and I felt like someone had ripped my heart out. And I remembered what my mother talked to me about on my wedding day." Sarah sniffled. "She asked me if I knew what I was getting into marrying a military man. She said 'Sarah, he'll be gone more than he's home and every moment you'll wonder if he's alright. Can you take that?' and I said, yes." Sarah's eyes were stricken as she looked to Chromia.

The Autobot femme looked pensive. "I can't say I can really empathize with you darling. The entire time Ironhide and I have been mates I've fought by his side. I never needed to worry because I knew he was capable of surviving anything. Sarah, you need to trust your man. I named him Warhawk for a reason."

Sarah was silent for a moment before her face broke in a huge smile. "Thanks, I needed that."

Outside the door, Ironhide-facsimile smiled at Will. "Quite the pair of ladies we have there." he said quietly.

"Yeah." Will said gazing lovingly at his wife. "More reason than ever to get that wiggly arachnid bastard."

Ironhide grinned evilly. "Couldn't agree more."

Will cocked a brow. "You're coming with?"

:_Optimus to all Autobots, Optimus to all Autobots._:

Both facsimiles perked up. :_Ironhide reporting._:

:_Chromia here._:

:_Ratchet._:

:_Bumblebee in._:

:_Jazz here, barely._:

:_What do you mean barely?!_: Ratchet snapped.

:_Had a run in with a certain Decepticon femme. Thunder-Blast is on Earth._: The Autobots all spoke at once.

:_Ah slag. - _: Bumblebee chirruped.

:_The fraggin; glitch!_: Chromia digitally shouted. :_Can't leave anythin' the Pit alone that scheming -_:

:_Jazz are you alright?! No damage to you or Figueroa? - _: Ratchet asked.

:Quiet!: Optimus roared.

The other fell silent obediently. :_Jazz, are you and your charge safe?_:

:_Yessir. She got one shot off on me, but I dodged easily. She tried again but something called her back. I think Starscream is back._:

:_Why?_: Optimus asked.

:_She was with another jet. Same alt mode as Starscream's, and if you'll remember some of my intel from over the years, Thunderblast was his moll._:

:_Sir, permission to speak._: Chromia said.

:_Go ahead._:

:_She must have followed us femmes here. She has some sort of bone to pick with Elite-Femme. The thing of it is, we have no idea what transgression Elite-Femme supposedly committed._:

Optimus' low growl actually managed to shock his underlings. :_Damn his hide._: he said, using one of his favorite new curses, :_No matter, we have to find the rest of your team Chromia and get ready. I want all of you to meet me at the Hoover Dam with your charges pronto! The hunt for Scorponok can go on without you or Lennox Ironhide and Jazz, your visit with Fig's mother has to be cut short. Also, be on the lookout for a group that calls themselves the Association for the Study and Containment of Extraterrestrials. I will fill you in when you get here._:

There was a chorus of yes sirs.

:_One more thing Prime._:

:_Jazz?_:

:_I found Elite-Femme's landing site. As luck would have it, she landed not two miles from Fig's mother's. I also think I may have a lead on where she went._:

:_You do_?: The other Autobots echoed Prime's question.

:_Mrs. Figueroa has a neighbor named Serena Marshall. The young woman lives alone about one hundred yards down the street from Mrs. Fig. The girl went on an extended road trip according to her father about a week ago. I hacked phone records. Turns out she contacted one Hunter Quinn, every bot's favorite conspiracy theorist. I think she's either got Elite-Femme with her or she at least may have a clue where she is._:

Optimus was silent for a moment and the rest of the Autobots stayed wisely the same way. :_Jazz, I want you to meet up with Ironhide and Lennox at the Hoover Dam. I'm contacting Secretary Keller to get you two an airplane back out here. Then you, Ironhide, Figueroa, and Lennox will search for Serena Marshall and Hunter Quinn._:

:_Gotcha._:

:_Autobots, inform your charges and roll out! Prime out!_:

:_Ironhide out._:

:_Ratchet out._:

:_Bumblebee out._:

:_Chromia out._:

:_Jazz out._:

Chromia sighed. "I don't think you need to worry about Warhawk dearie. We're to move all of you to the Hoover Dam immediately."

Sarah cocked her head. "Trouble?"

Chromia laughed. "Lots and lots of it."


	8. Defiant Duet

**Additional Warning:** This chapter contains some heavy profanity.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Defiant Duet**

_**Duet: **_**Piece or section of a musical piece that is written for two performers.**

* * *

Barricade was trying not to fidget as he sat in Glen's backyard. He was in his alt mode, but he still felt like twitching because of all the wires Glen and Maggie had running from him to their two terminals. "Maggie, look at this." Glen breathed. "Man, your system is a piece of work Cade!"

Barricade experienced a moment of discomfort. Frenzy had called him Cade with just that much enthusiasm. "It should be." he answered, "I am a sentient being you know."

"I know, I know, but this is just amazing!"

Maggie grinned at the police car. "We're just so excited. None of the Autobots have let us into their, um, heads I guess you could say, so we're thrilled to see what your systems look like. I feel like one of those neurosurgeons, studying the human brain."

Arcee leaned in her alt mode toward him. "They're inquisitive creatures Barricade. Let them have their fun. And don't you find it interesting that our processor and their brains are so similar? Ours is made of wires and chips while theirs is made of neurons and synapses, but they work much the same way. "

"Say that when they have a window into your processor." he growled back.

Arcee chuckled and both humans slid a glance to him. "We'll be outta your head soon Barricade." Maggie said. "We've isolated the virus and figured out how your built in antivirus programs and firewalls were unable to stop it. All we've got to do is clear it out of your processor."

Barricade sank a little on his axles. "Good."

:_Starscream to Barricade. Starscream to Barricade._:

Barricade stiffened. He tried to think of some way to not have to answer. He knew that Starscream would trace him. The fragger had a direct link to him courtesy of his role as leader. He'd insisted on being able to know where all of his men were at all times.

:_Answer me Barricade! I know you're there!_:

:_What do you want Starscream?_: Barricade growled.

:_What do you think_? _Meet me at the following -_:

:_No._: Barricade snapped.

:_What?!_: Starscream screeched.

:_I said no. I'm not your minion._: Barricade replied, ten times more calmly than he felt.

:_You are a Decepticon! I am the leader!_:

:_Oh please._: Barricade snapped, :_We all know that you couldn't lead your way out of a paper bag to use the human phrase!_:

:_Insolence!_: Starscream screamed.

:_Well here's some more! We both know that Sound-Carrier is going to be the true leader of the Decepticons. Not you._: Barricade taunted.

:_You two bit fragger! You will listen to me!_:

Barricade trembled with rage. Maggie gasped as the gentle purples that had graced her screen as she stared at the monitor turned to black. :_Don't you get it you aft! It's over! It's all over! Megatron is dead, Prime won! You and I both know that the Decepticons won't follow you! And anyway what do you want so badly?_:

:_I will have my heart's desire Barricade and you will help me._: Starscream's voice had mellowed, but Barricade wasn't fooled.

:_Are you so sure?_: Barricade asked silkily.

:_I will have Elite-Femme and you and Scorponok will help me._:

Barricade stiffened. The black anger vanished to be replaced by shock. :_You are insane._: Barricade said, utterly shocked. :_You will find no help from either of us. We aren't suicidal._:

:_Are you so sure?_: Starscream said, throwing Barricade's words back into his face. :_Blackout and Scorponok had a much stronger bond than you and Frenzy._:

In a moment of nearly sickening clarity Barricade made a connection. :_They were life-bonded?_:

Femmes were exceedingly rare since it was more a quirk of programming and structure more than a need for a second gender that prompted their existence. Thus, it wasn't uncommon for two mechs to bond as mates, but what disturbed Barricade was the fact that Blackout had been somewhat abusive toward Scorponok. Even Decepticons treated their mates with respect and affection. Blackout had treated Scorponok as a nuisance.

:_Yes. And I know Scorponok would love some payback._:

Barricade realized that was why Scorponok had stayed high profile after Mission City. With Blackout's death, Scorponok had went into a mental breakdown that accompanied the loss of a mate. :_I still won't help you. All Decepticons know that if you step between Elite-Femme and Optimus Prime you're asking to die._ _Their love is what ballads are written about you fool._:

:_Nothing you say will stop me Barricade. I have Scorponok and Thunderblast to help me. And you will join us or die._:

Usually, Barricade went along with Starscream to avoid the dire "Or Die" that Starscream tacked onto every statement he made as a commander. However, it wasn't because he was a coward. Barricade just hated hearing Starscream bitch. Now though, he wasn't about to listen to what the fragger had to say. Even when he'd been a staunch Decepticon, there had been something about the story of Elite-Femme and Optimus Prime that had made him wistful. Amazingly enough, a lot of Decepticons had felt the same way, especially after they'd seen what she'd done to keep him safe. A femme like that was worth keepin'. "Maggie, I want you to do something for me, okay?"

"Sure." she said, wondering all the while what was going on.

"I'm going to give you a mental signal. It's going to look like a little supernova on your monitor. When you see it, I want you to scramble the frequency that I naturally broadcast until I can change it, okay?"

"Yeah," Maggie said, "I can do that."

"Good."

:_Well? Are you going to bend to my will?_:

:_Ah, with all due respect Starscream,_: Barricade laughed, :_Fuck you._: He sent up the signal to Maggie and she quickly ran the scramble.

Barricade didn't hear it but he was sure that Starscream was probably cursing him to the Pit and back. "Thank you Maggie."

"No problem."

Barricade shook a bit. "How much longer? I'm afraid we're going to have to move. Like, yesterday. I just pissed off Starscream in a major way." he explained. "He'll be on the warpath for at least a couple of days."

Arcee revved her engine. "What did you say?"

"I told him to frag off, but not in those terms."

Arcee looked up the alternative word in English for "frag" and whistled. "Smooth Cade, smooth."

"You traveled here with Elite-Femme didn't you?"

"Yeah." Arcee answered. "Why?"

"He's after her." Barricade whispered.

Arcee stiffened. "No way. He couldn't want her. Not after what she did to him. He's too prideful to want her."

"He does." Barricade answered. "He wants her because of that. It's Starscream's way. If he can't defeat her . . ."

"Dominate her." Arcee finished. "The slagger!" she hissed.

Maggie and Glen shared a look before Maggie slapped her laptop closed. "Well come on!" she cried. "We've got to get going or this Starscream is going to catch us here. If you don't mind, we'll ride in you Barricade."

Barricade opened his back doors. "Hop in."

Arcee revved and turned to be by his side. "We haven't the faintest idea where she is."

"I know, but we've got to find her."

"Why not go to Optimus?" Arcee suggested.

Barricade slammed his doors shut after the two humans. "I hadn't planned on this for a while yet, but I guess we must find Optimus."

"In that case, we are more than equipped to help." Maggie said.

"Yeah, we can get you to their base easy." Glen agreed.

"Good. While we drive, could you do me another favor Maggie?"

She laughed. "Need a new frequency? I can give you one based off the ones that the Autobots use. It should mess with Starscream."

"Good. Thank you."

Both humans looked at the dash of the already speeding car. Barricade sensed the scrutiny and made a sound that they interpreted as a sort of grunt. "What? Arcee told me that you catch more bees with honey. If I'm nice to the squishies, the squishies do nice things for me."

Maggie sighed. "Well, good. For a moment there I thought I'd missed something."

* * *

Elita revved her engine quietly to wake her riders. "We're almost there." she said through the radio.

Hunter woke up groggily. "Wow, I thought we'd be another day at least."

There was smug satisfaction in Elita's tone. "Well, I had miles of open road with no cars, of course I'm going to go faster than speed limit!"

"Need we ask how much faster?" Serena chirped.

"What you - or the California Highway Patrol - don't know, won't hurt you." she chirped right on back.

They drove in silence for a few minutes. Hunter and Serena usually didn't talk much since they were so shy around each other. They'd have bursts of conversation now and again, but most of the time was spent in silence.

Elita didn't try to start any more conversations since the first couple times. She just left them to figure it out themselves. As the sign came into view that said "Welcome to Tranquility", Elita felt a sense of hope welling up. "Where now?" she asked.

"Take a left up here." Hunter said, his laptop open and the GPS on. "We're looking for the Witwicky home."

"Can do."

Hunter lead them through Tranquility to a sleepy residential neighborhood. They pulled up in front of a normal looking two story house that had a well kept front lawn and a plethora of flowers and bushes. "This is it."

Elita engaged her facsimile and hopped out. The other two followed her and the three walked up to the door and rang the bell. They heard footsteps and then a man in his early to mid forties opened the door. "Hiya, what can I do for you?" he said.

"Are you Ron Witwicky?" Serena asked.

"Why yes I am." He looked at them suspiciously. "You're not from some secret government organization are you?" he asked.

The three shared a look. "No, we're just hoping to speak to your son, Sam."

Ron still looked suspicious. "Sam is at college."

"Oh." Elita said. "Well, could we speak to you and your wife then?"

Ron still looked suspicious but he gestured for them to come in. "Judy! We've got visitors!"

Judy Witwicky sailed out of the kitchen and promptly squealed at the sight of Elita-facsimile and Serena. "Oh my! You two are probably the most beautiful girls I've had in this house!" she said with enthusiasm. "Well, other than Mikaela."

Serena blushed and Elita-facsimile made the attempt to. Holograms had to be consciously directed to do things that normal humans did automatically. "Thank you." Elita murmured.

"Hello Mrs. Witwicky. I'm Hunter Quinn and these are my friends Serena Marshall and . . ." Crap, he thought, they had forgotten to give Elita a normal name.

"Lita Marshall. I'm Serena's cousin." she supplied.

Hunter and Serena both looked at her askance, but Serena realized that Elita-facsimile did indeed look very similar to her. Enough so that the family connection could be believable.

Ron and Judy lead their guests into the living room. "So, you wanted to talk?" Ron prompted.

"Ron!" Judy chided. "Would you like something to drink or maybe a snack?"

Elita-facsimile smiled. "No thank you."

"Um, a glass of water or lemonade would be lovely." Serena said politely.

"Nothing for me either." Hunter said.

"Be right back with your lemonade dear!" Judy said cheerily. At that moment a Chihuahua came in and sat looking at Elita-facsimile. Serena and Hunter both knew a moment of fear. Even though her "body" was depressing the cushions on the couch, that was only due to the weight of the metal frame within the holo. If the dog did something like jumping in her lap, then it would be over.

Fortunately, Judy came back and handed Serena her glass. She scooped up the dog and sat beside her husband. "So, what can we do for you?" she asked cheerily.

"We wanted to ask you about your son's friends." Hunter began.

Ron and Judy both betrayed their nerves. "What friends? Miles? What would you guys wanna know about Miles." Ron chattered.

"Or Mikaela." Judy agreed. "Well, she has done very well for herself actually."

Elita cleared her throat. "We know about his car. His car is a robot from another planet."

Judy and Ron both burst out laughing like it was the most humorous thing they'd ever heard. "Cars turning into robots!" Ron chortled.

"You kids have such imagination these days!" Judy agreed.

"Please stop bull-slagging me." Elita said quietly. Her tone, deadly as it was, conveyed the message better than her words. Ron and Judy shut up quick. "Listen to me, I am one of those robots. What you see is a hologram. I need to find them, and find them quickly. Does your son know where they are?"

Ron kept his mouth shut, but Judy nodded. "He does, but I'm afraid that you won't be able to meet with Sam." she said. "He called us last night and told us that the Autobots were bringing in all their wards. The only reason we aren't there too is because we haven't been collected yet."

"Judy!" Ron hissed.

"What? They're nice young people! And it's not like they're the Deceptions -"

"Decepticons." Elita corrected.

"Oops, Decepticons, or something! Sam assured me that those cruel things would never work with humans!" she snapped. Ron subsided and the guests looked to Mrs. Judy Witwicky with new respect.

Serena took a sip of her drink. "Can you take us with you?" she asked.

Judy shook her head. "No. They'll most likely arrest you before you'd be allowed to follow us. Anyway, since we're not their direct wards we go somewhere different."

Hunter sighed. "Well, this was the last lead I had ladies. Now we'll never find your friends." he said to Elita. He looked to Ron and Judy. "Thanks for your help."

Ron sighed. "You could try the Hoover Dam."

Everyone turned to look at him. "I overheard Sam on the phone once. He was talking to Mikaela. He said something about the Hoover Dam."

Hunter nodded. "According to some reports I got . . ." he brightened and straightened. "Some of the robots were seen near the Hoover Dam! The reported fight on the interstate was on the one that went from the Hoover Dam toward Mission City!"

Elita brightened and laughed. She turned her radiant smile on Judy and Ron. "Thank you so much!" she cried.

Serena and Hunter were smiling as well. "Yes, thank you so much!" Serena agreed.

Judy smiled. "It was our pleasure." she said.

Hunter, Serena, and Elita-facsimile rose. "We should be going now." Hunter said with a nod to Judy and Ron.

"Well, glad you came!" Judy chuckled. She escorted them to the door. "Have a safe trip and I wish you luck with finding them!"

"We wish you a safe trip to your hideaway." Hunter rejoined with a wink.

Judy nodded and waited until they'd gotten in the car and driven away before she want back inside. She picked up the phone. "Yes, can I speak to the Secretary of Defense please? Tell him it's Mrs. Judith Witwicky."


	9. Crescendo

**Chapter 9: Crescendo **

_**Crescendo: **_**gradually louder**

* * *

"So, Will, how's Annabelle and Sarah?" Fig asked.

"They're alright. How's your mom?" Lennox answered.

"Eh, she's okay. Worried about Serena though." was the reply.

The two men were riding along the interstate toward Tranquility. Word had come from Secretary Keller just before they had left that Judy Witwicky had met with Serena and Hunter. She's also mentioned a third that had gone by the name "Lita" and could possibly be Elite-Femme.

Jazz revved his engine. "I'm worried about all three of em. That Society sounds like bad news."

"Keller said that he has teams on it." Lennox pointed out rather lacklusterly.

"Yeah, but if the special branch of the CIA didn't know about them, then I'd say it'd take a little more than just a couple of diggers to find them." Ironhide transmitted. Both humans were currently riding in Jazz. Ironhide's statement came through Jazz's radio.

"You have a point Hide." Lennox said. "But what I wanna know is how they found out about you."

"Easy," Fig said, "After Mission City you had a couple thousand people who saw them not to mention the dissolution of Sector Seven. I'm betting you my disability pay that they're the ones that banded together to make this Society."

Lennox cocked an eyebrow. That rather intelligent idea was uncharacteristic of Figueroa. Fig sensed the scrutiny and shrugged. "Hey, if huge alien robots had just either destroyed my home or put me out of a job, I'd be pissed as hell and I'd want payback."

Lennox nodded. "Ah."

They rode along for a few minutes before Fig pointed to a car going the opposite way. "Jazz! Hide!"

"What?" Lennox cried.

"That Mustang! I've seen it before, and the woman in the passengers seat! _It's Serena_!"

Jazz and Ironhide both made 180s and sped over middle area of the road to get on the other side. They sped up to catch the pink Mustang.

Inside of said 'Stang, Hunter and Serena were staring out the back window. "I'm sure of it." Hunter said, "That's the black truck that was in Mission City."

Elita heard that and opened up a closed frequency transmission. :_This is Elite-Femme-One calling to any Autobots in the area._:

Jazz and Ironhide revved their engines and shook. Fig and Lennox both grabbed onto the doors in surprise. :_This is Music-Lover to Elite-Femme-One_.:

:_This is Thick-Armor to Elite-Femme-One_.:

Elita revved her engine and turned on her blinker, signaling the two vehicles behind her to follow her to the shoulder. The three vehicles made the stop. :_It's good to see the two of you. Metal-Femme is here too Thick-Armor._:

:_We already have her. She's back at the Hoover Dam standing guard over our wards._: Ironhide answered.

:_It's good to see you too ma'am._: Jazz responded. :_Now, I think it best for us to hurry out of here. First-and-Best has reports of a Society that wishes us harm._:

The humans hopped out and greeted each other.

"Jorge!" Serena said. "It's good to see you!"

"Hey Serena." Fig said with a grin. "Now girl, what're you doing with this _chica _right here?" he asked, pointing to Elita.

"She sorta fell into my lap." Serena said. She turned to Hunter. "Jorge, this is my friend Hunter Quinn. Hunter this is my neighbor's son Jorge Figueroa."

Hunter nodded to Fig as Fig pointed to Lennox. "This here is my buddy and former Captain, Will Lennox. Nice ta meet cha."

Will smiled. "A pleasure Ms. Mitchell. And it's also a pleasure to meet the bane of the Autobot's existence."

Hunter blushed. "I didn't know I was such a nuisance to them."

"Nah, we're cool with it." The humans glanced over at the suave black man with dreads and a distinctly Marley-esque look. The man standing beside him had the physique of a professional wrestler and a face that looked somewhat like Lennox. With them stood a beautiful woman who was grinning happily.

"So you two are wards of the Autobots?" the woman asked.

Fig and Lennox nodded. The woman bowed a little. "I am Elita-1."

"Nice to meet you ma'am." Lennox said.

Fig frowned. "OP's lady friend right?"

She laughed. "Yes." She gestured to Hunter and Serena. "Guys, these are my fellow Autobots Jazz and Ironhide."

More pleasantries were observed as two police cars pulled up. Four officers stepped out of the cars. "Is there a problem folks?"

"No officer, we're alright." Lennox answered.

The policeman nodded before he grabbed Serena and pulled her into a headlock. He whipped out a gun and shoved it against her temple. "Now, you three get in the back of the cruiser." The man's dark eyes turned to the three facsimiles. "And you three follow. If you make a move to transform or try to contact your friends I'll put a bullet in her brain."

"You know what we are?" Elita asked.

"I know exactly what you are you alien monstrosity. Get ready to go!"

The three men obeyed and got into the back of the cruiser. The man dragged Serena to the first car and pulled her into the backseat. Elita, Jazz, and Ironhide obediently pulled out behind the first car. The second followed. Jazz cursed to himself.

With all the happiness, he'd never even noticed the jamming signal that had blanketed the area.

* * *

Jake stumbled into the road. He'd been running for a couple days now and had found nowhere to hide. The Society was right on his heels. He swayed, his fatigue blurring the scene before his eyes. Vaguely, he heard the blaring of the horn before his world went black.

It was sometime later that he felt himself surfacing. "Is he alright?" he heard a bubbly feminine voice ask.

"His vitals are alright and we didn't hit him. I think he just needed some rest. When he wakes up we'll feed him." another, more mature sounding woman said.

He groaned and heard a small chuckle. "He's coming to."

Jake opened his eyes to find two of the prettiest women he'd ever seen staring back at him. They smiled in tandem. "Are you alright?"

He glanced back and forth between them with a grin on his face. He was either dreaming or in heaven. "I think so."

The two girls shared a sidelong look before giggling. "So, stranger, what your name?"

"Jake."

"Well Jake, I'm Verbena and this is my sister Orchid." the girl on the right said cheerily.

Her sister slid her a rather caustic look. "Nice to meet you Jake."

:_You named us after flowers?! _:

:_The names sounded pretty!_:

:_Vibrations you are hopeless!_:

Jake sat up slowly. He examined the two girls closely. Both had dark skin and pretty brown eyes. They were kneeling with him on the side of the road. He spied a nice sports car and a motorcycle sitting beside him. He blanched when he saw the symbols on the vehicles. "You're holograms."

The sisters shared a look. "Great." Orchid muttered.

"I guess we're not as great actors as we thought." Verbena said.

Jake shook his head and gestured to their true bodies. "I recognize that marking."

"Ah."

The motorcycle rocked and changed. :_Vibrations!_:

The motorcycle-robot knelt as her facsimile faded away. "My true name is a Cybertronian word I truly doubt you could pronounce, but please, call me Vibes."

The car transformed as well. "Thank Primus that I don't have to use that stupid name. My name is Override."

Jake felt awed and afraid at the same time. Override cocked her head. "No need to get nervous. We won't hurt you."

"We're Autobots, sworn to protect those that cannot protect themselves." Vibes added.

Jake swallowed. "That's . . . . Nice."

Override held out one of her large hands. Jake recoiled. "I, uh, thought shaking hands was what new acquaintances were supposed to do." she said softly.

Jake stared at the outstretched hand and steeled himself. He reached out and placed his hand in hers. Override's hand was very different from a human hand as it was about twenty times larger, but Jake felt warmth. Jake smiled up at the robot. "It's nice to meet you. Welcome to Earth."

Override and Vibes nodded and took turns shaking his hand. "So, do you have somewhere you need to be Jake?" Vibes asked.

"Yeah, and how do you know about us?" Override added.

"I don't have any place to be really." he answered. He looked back. "I'm on the run. I know what you are because I worked for an organization that . . . Hunts you guys. I left because after the first one we caught I . . . I realized who I was dealing with. They took such glee in his pain. He was screaming and trying to get away. I had been told that we would only be studying them, I didn't realize that we would be trying to kill them."

Override stood. "Well, at least you realized the mistake in time."

"Yeah. Before I left I talked to someone who called himself Optimus Prime. I guess I'd like to try to find him."

Vibes shot a bit of exhaust. "Then you're with the right pair of femmes! He's the guy we're looking for too!"

Jake smiled. Override chuckled and transformed back into her vehicle mode. "Well then, since we're heading the same way, need a lift stranger?"

* * *

Barricade, Arcee, Glenn, and Maggie stopped shortly for the two humans to take care of their private needs and to obtain food. The two Cybertronians stayed parked in the fast food restaurant's parking lot as they went about it.

:_Are you sure you want to go to Prime?_:

:_Worried about me?_:

:_Yes!_:

Barricade fought down the happy little feeling in his processor. :_I'll be fine Arcee. You Autobots are big on mercy._:

:_But Cade, they'll think you kidnapped the humans and me and they'll -_:

:_Arcee, relax. I trust that you, Maggie, and Glenn will be able to convince Prime to leave me alone. And anyways it's not like I want to stick around the Autobots. I just want them to know that I'm not going to go insane like Scorponok and Scream._:

Arcee was silent for a few moments. :_So, you're not going to stay?_:

In an uncomfortable flash, Barricade knew what was running through her head. :_Look, Arcee, I really like you, but the thing is -_:

:_I'm an Autobot and you're a Decepticon?_:

:_Well, there's that . . ._:

:_What else could there be?_:

Barricade's connection went completely silent for a moment. Arcee thought he'd terminated the conversation, but when he spoke, it was with a distinct somberness. :_Arcee, I don't know how Sound-Carrier or the other sane Decepticons are going to handle my decision to no longer fight. There has never been a Decepticon in history to retire. I can't be around you if they get hostile toward me. I can't have you in the crossfire._:

:_Why, because I'd get in your way?_: There was a wealth of righteous anger in her tone.

:_No, because I couldn't bear it if you got hurt because of me._:

The words shocked the slag out of Arcee. :_But I . . . . You . . . _:

:_Arcee, listen to me. Just because I am a Decepticon doesn't mean that I have no heart. You've seen that before now. We Decepticons aren't a different race from Autobots, we're all the same species. Decepticons love like you, hate like you, grieve, celebrate, everything. I am a downright nasty fellow who in turns hangs out with a lot of nasty fellows. I don't feel remorse for anything I've ever done because it was done in the name of war or in the name of my own self-interest. In my opinion, your Autobot ideals are a grand delusion and the Decepticon propaganda is just that - propaganda. If I had been created an Autobot, I would probably think much the same way. I do not mistakenly identify myself as only a Decepticon and I do not delude myself into thinking that I'm some noble being like Starscream and Megatron did._

:_I know I have many faults. I know that have killed and I have terrorized humans and I've done a million other little things that would make any Autobot cringe away from me. That's why you're special to me. You didn't cringe away, you came closer trying to help me. Autobots try to act noble but when faced with a crippled Decepticon like me they'd kill me on the spot and say it was mercy. You didn't do that. You helped me in my time of need even though I was a Decepticon, even though I'd wronged you._

:_That's why I can't loose you. You are special to me, special like Frenzy was, maybe even more special than Frenzy. You are my friend. It doesn't matter that you are an Autobot and that I am a Decepticon. We're both way past that._:

Arcee was speechless, but something had to be said. :_Barricade, you've had your piece, not let me have mine. I have a confession. When I was stuttering a moment ago, I didn't even think about Autobots and Decepticons. I was thinking about what you were going to say. You haven't said what I'd hoped, but I'll give you the response that I was willing to give a few moments ago. Barricade, I love you. I love you because you admit that you are wrong. I love you because you know you've done wrong. I love you because you refuse to let it get in your way. And now that I know that I am a friend that you don't want to lose, I'm so happy I could burst._:

It was now Barricade's turn to be speechless. He realized that he was a fool. He should have gone with his instinct and just blurted it all out, but he was interrupted.

:_Ah, how sweet._: For a moment Arcee believed that it was Starscream speaking, but Barricade laughed. :_Well, well, if it ain't my buddy Sonic-Boom._:

:_New name's Thundercracker friend._:

:_And Skywarp here to fill out his duo._:

Barricade shot a bit of exhaust. :_What, not on errands for your master Starscream?_:

:_To use an Earth idiom, man are you out of the loop._: Skywarp crowed. :_Starscream is considered a dangerous entity and is to be killed on sight along with Scorponok. You are to be brought to Soundwave upon sighting._:

Barricade inched in front of Arcee. _:Soundwave?_:

:_Sound-Carrier of course. Don't worry, it's nothing bad. You can even bring your Autobot girlfriend and the humans. We'll make it a party._:

:_I'll give you a party._: Barricade growled.

:_Hey, whoa there! Don't get your energon feed tubes in a tangle. We're under orders to be nice to Autobots and humans. Soundwave ain't interested in war any more. He wants to leave it alone. He sites Megatron and Starscream as examples of what war does to mechs._:

:_I always knew that Soundwave was the real brain of our bunch. Alright, let me inform the humans and Arcee and we'll come._:

:_I don't need informing, I heard the whole conversation._: Arcee snapped.

:_Sorry, I thought we were on a secure frequency. We still have to tell Maggie and Glenn._:

:_True._:

The two humans chose that time to make their appearance. The bundled into Barricade and shut the doors gently. They knew it hurt Barricade to slam the door.

"Maggie, Glenn, there's been a slight change of plans." Barricade said pleasantly.

Both humans glanced out his windshield and gulped. "Oh my." Maggie whispered.

"Meet my associates Thundercracker and Skywarp. We're to be escorted to the new leader of the Decepticons post haste."

Maggie touched his door. "You aren't betraying us are you?"

Barricade revved his engine. "They touch you or Arcee, they're dead." he said savagely.

Maggie sighed. "I believe you. Against all better judgment, I believe you."


	10. A Captive's Ditty

**Chapter 10: A Captive's Ditty**

_**Ditty - **_**a short simple popular song**

* * *

Maggie woke up groggily. She glanced around, but they were apparently in a large room that had only one overhead light. The corners of the space were in complete darkness. She looked over at Glenn who was still out from whatever they had been gassed with. "Hello?" she called.

A large head moved into the circle of light. "Are you alright human? Bluelights was worried that her mix was too potent."

Maggie looked to the figure that was still mostly shrouded in shadows. "Is that him beside you?"

The was a slight sound that might have been a "humph!" and the figure stepped into the light. Maggie couldn't see anything different about him from Barricade except for his color scheme, but the bot bent down to her level. "I believe that the proper pronoun in English is 'her'. And yes, I am Bluelights."

Maggie blinked. "Sorry. I'm still new to the fact that there are female Cybertronians."

"It's okay." Bluelights chirped. "I'm still new to humans."

The huge cat stepped fully into the light as well. "Are there any ill affects? Soundwave doesn't want to start off on the wrong foot." Bluelights held out a hand to Maggie. Carefully, the intrepid human woman stepped into the palm and held onto a finger as Bluelights lifted her to be eye level of the robot. Bluelights turned her a bit but nodded. "Nothing out of the ordinary, but your hormone levels indicate that you are fertile. Be careful unless you wish to procreate."

Maggie blushed. "You must be a medic."

Bluelights laughed. "How did you know?"

"I've heard Ratchet tell Mikaela that before." Maggie answered as she was set back on the ground. She left it unsaid that both medics were good at embarrassing their human fellows. Bluelights carefully picked up Glenn and examined him.

The giant cat sat down beside Maggie and stared at her. "I am called Ravage. I have been given the duty of watching over the two of you along with Bluelights."

Bluelights set down Glenn. "Would you like to go on a tour of the ship? Soundwave had it specially outfitted with oxygen valves all over it for you."

Maggie nodded. "Sure. Hey, were are Barricade and Arcee?"

Ravage and Bluelights shared a look. "They're consulting with Soundwave." Ravage answered.

The Decepticon femme picked up Maggie and walked through the darkness to a large door. "They stored the two of you in one of the cargo bays. We figured you wouldn't appreciate waking to the comedic stylings of Skywarp and Rumble."

When they reached the common area, Maggie could appreciate the sentiment. Two mechs were regaling the assembled about their experience on Earth to great laughter. The larger one looked up and waved to Bluelights. "Well, well, well, look what we've got here! A pretty little femme and a pretty little human!"

Maggie glanced up at Bluelights' face. "He looked up human beauty standards didn't he?"

"Probably." she answered. "Hello Skywarp."

Skywarp had moved through the crowd to get to Bluelights' side. "'Ello, 'ello, what's this?" he asked as he gently took Maggie from Bluelights' hands. Maggie slid a look to Blue. The Decepticon femme nodded, telling her human charge that Skywarp wouldn't hurt her.

"My name's Maggie."

Skywarp and the other Decepticons all shared looks and an excited buzz permeated the room. Skywarp set her up on his shoulder and she grabbed onto a piece of his facial plate. He walked over to the wall and pressed a button. The wall receded to reveal a breathtaking view of space and the upper curve of Earth. "Welcome to the _Nemesis-2_ Maggie."

* * *

Barricade stared up at Soundwave with disbelief. "What?" he whispered.

Soundwave was amused. "I am going to propose a deal with Optimus Prime. There is no need for pointless war."

"But, what about the galaxy?"

"You mean Megatron's cockamamie plan? No, we will find a new home for the Decepticons and establish ourselves as a trading empire. There are several sentient species that I've spoken to that are keen for that sort of relationship."

Barricade finally understood. "I get it, rule by trade, not by force."

"Exactly." Soundwave answered in his monotone. "The Autobots will be happy, the Decepticons will be happy, and their precious humans will be clueless."

Arcee stepped up. "Then what do you want from Barricade?"

Soundwave looked at the Autobot and nodded to her. "I have a mission for the two of you. I sent down an emissary to Optimus Prime about a week ago. It was someone I'm sure he would speak with. I haven't heard from the emissary, and unfortunately, he left behind a sweetheart who would miss him."

"You want us to find the emissary?" Barricade murmured.

"Yes. And I also want you to take care of whatever . . . Detained him. I've gotten reports of a Society that could be the culprit."

Barricade stiffened. "I know of them."

"Yes. That's why I figured you'd be best for the job in more ways then one." Soundwave's optics slid to Arcee.

Cade stepped in front of her and nodded. "I'll do it, but who am I looking for?"

"It will surprise both of you greatly I imagine." Soundwave murmured. "It surprised me when the prisoner requested that he get the chance. And what's more he was completely honest when he said he wasn't just doing it to escape. I couldn't read him so it might have been a lie, but I doubt it."

Barricade began to have a glimmer of an idea. The emissary was an Autobot, and there was only one Autobot that Soundwave had never been able to read . . .

Arcee blinked her optic shutters. "You mean we're looking for Prowl?!"

Soundwave nodded and then his optics slipped back to Barricade. "Yes, you're looking for Prowl. Now, there is a piece of business that I'd like to discuss with Barricade in private."

Arcee nodded and walked out into the corridor. "I'll wait." she said.

Barricade's optics followed her out but moved back to Soundwave. "She doesn't know does she?" Soundwave asked.

Barricade stiffened. "No. I didn't know you knew either."

Soundwave picked up the container of energon on his desk. He sipped lightly while regarding Barricade. "My first and biggest mistake was letting Starscream believe for a moment that he was leader of the Decepticons. Now I have to hunt him down." Soundwave leaned toward Barricade. "My second was letting him leave Cybertron. I have a possible third, and that was never telling him about you."

* * *

Serena woke and looked around her. She was in a plain white, dimly lit cell that looked like it was built for a giant, but the bars were spaced to were not even a human could escape. Everything was white, walls, floor, bars . . . . It was enough to drive someone insane. With a chill she wondered if that was the point. Across the white walkway she could see Hunter, Fig, and Will sitting in a semi-circle on the floor, whispering to each other. She knew it was too dangerous for them to openly include her, but she wished she knew what was going on.

Serena hadn't had a chance to tell anyone before, but she was a music major. Specifically, she was majoring in Composition. In the several hours that she had been incarcerated she'd begun writing a song in her head to beat away the fear. She hummed the tune and began to sing softly.

The boys looked over to her. In the bleak cellblock her soft words carried. Her song was the story about how she met Elita and their subsequent story. Her song soothed them all, but the guard at the door walked through with a scowl on his face. He stared at her for a moment before walking away.

Serena became louder. They locked her up, they could listen to her caterwauling away. She heard someone start humming the melody and looked over to smile at the boys. Lennox began to whistle and Hunter joined Figueroa in humming.

The door to their jail opened and over their music Serena heard the click of high heels. A woman appeared behind the bars of her cell. She wore a glare too, and Serena could tell that beneath the copious makeup the woman was somewhere in her mid-thirties.

"You know, frowning like that gives you wrinkles." Serena sang mischievously. Behind the woman the boys snorted and laughed at her joke.

The woman smirked and held up a remote. She pressed a button and Serena felt suddenly like her entire body was on fire. A roaring filled her ears and she could hear the men screaming in the other cell. As suddenly as it had come, the sensation passed, but pain still wracked her body. The woman knelt. "Don't toy with me."

Serena looked up and couldn't help but feel fear. "What do you want?" she whispered.

"Information." The woman stood. "Your two military pals know the location of the aliens' base. Give us the location and we'll let you go."

Serena looked the cell bars to Lennox. He was crouching beside Hunter who had lost the contents of his stomach. Lennox's face was a blank mask. Serena could tell that he was torn between two duties; keeping her and Hunter alive and keeping the Autobots' secret. She snarled at the woman. "We're not telling you anything. They're our friends."

"Friends?!" the woman screeched. "Your _friends _were responsible for the destruction of Mission City. Your _friends _hurt countless people! Your _friends killed my family!_"

Serena recoiled from the hysteria in the woman's voice. "They were trying to protect you and your family." Lennox said from the other cell. "Would you rather have had them stand by and let the evil guys win?"

"The Decepticons would have tortured you family and killed them all in front of your eyes just for the fun of it." Fig agreed. "Our friends are what stood between the Earth and certain death."

"We aren't going to help you." Hunter finished for them all.

The woman stared at the man kneeling in a pool of his own vomit. She wasn't immune to the courage it took to say something like that when one knew that death was an easy button-push away. "They all deserve to die." she said and swept out.

Serena got to her knees, wincing as she realized that she had bruised them. "Hunter, you okay?"

Hunter nodded. "I only lost my lunch."

Serena smiled at him and sighed. "You guys think we're going to get out of here alive?"

"Probably not." another voice said softly.

The three men stared at the cell adjacent to Serena's. She crawled up to the bars and tried to see around the wall. "They'll kill all of us. Hopefully, they'll kill you fast. I'm on the list for slow death."

"Who are you?" Lennox asked.

Lennox, Fig, and Hunter stared as a figure detached from the gloom of the cell next to Serena's. He was the stereotypical tall, dark, and handsome, but his eyes were a bright blue. "They keep it dim in here so they don't have to look at me." he said. "They want me as a plaything, but they still don't know how to handle me. Specially after the other escaped."

Serena felt the ground shake a bit as the robot walked to the cell bars. "I am Autobot designation Prowl." he said.

* * *

Jake saw the Hoover Dam looming and shivered. "Are you sure we should be doing this?"

Vibes' voice soothed him. "It'll be okay Jake-my-man! You said that Optimus said to call you if you ever needed him. He's a good guy."

Jake pushed a button on Override's radio and sighed. "Jake to Optimus Prime. Jake to-"

:_Prime here._:

"Hi." Jake said shakily. "I'm on the road that leads to the Hoover Dam and I was wondering where you were."

There was a short pause. :_Why?_:

"I found two of your friends and they were asking me to help them find you."

The radio suddenly cracked with another voice. :_Optimus Prime sir, it's Vibes! Or, er, it's -_: There was a bunch of garbaldegook that Jake couldn't make heads or tails of.

:_Vibes and Override now? Good. And you have Jake with you?_:

:_Yes sir._:

:_Good. I'm dispatching Bumblebee to escort you in. He's a yellow and black Camaro._:

:_Gotcha._:

:_Prime out._:

:_Vibes out._:

:_Override out._:

Jake sat back in Override's passenger seat and sighed. It didn't take long for them to see a sunny yellow and black Camaro and for him to signal them to follow. They went through a small gate into the heart of the dam. It wasn't long before they were shown into a large hangar. Jake felt his stomach flip in fear when he spied three giant robots turning to look at them.

The Camaro and Vibes transformed quickly. Jake got out of Override slowly and she transformed as well. One of the other robots made a squealing sound and moved toward them quickly. "Vibes! Override! You guys are alright!"

"Chromia!" the two chorused. They exchanged small hugs as several humans made their way toward Jake. There were two women, a young man, and a baby.

Jake felt his mouth go dry when he saw the first woman. She was a beautiful brunette, and poor Jake had never been good with talking to pretty girls. "Are you alright?" she asked. She smiled at him and stuck out a hand. "I'm Mikaela Banes, Optimus Prime's ward."

The other woman chorused her smile. "I'm Sarah Lennox, Chromia's ward. And this is my daughter Annabelle."

The young man nodded and gave Jake a smile that said he knew the feeling. "Sam Witwicky, Bumblebee's ward."

Jake shook everyone's hand and smiled back. "I'm Jake Thomas. I don't think I'm anybody's ward."

Vibes made a sound. "And what are we, chopped liver?"

Jake smiled up at her and nodded. "Well, I guess I'm Vibes' ward then."

Vibes made to add Override to that but when she glanced over at her friend she noticed she was too busy making optics at Ratchet. The medic was returning the gesture while Optimus was giving them an amused look. His optics slid to Vibes and the Prime winked.

Vibes' more mobile mouth plates allowed her to smile. "Sir, where is _Elite-Femme_?"

Optimus froze as did most of the others. "We don't know." Chromia answered.

Sarah Lennox frowned. "We don't even know where the search party for her is."

Vibes and Override shared a look, and Jake piped up. "I might know."

All eyes and optics turned to Jake. "I know where they'd likely keep them. There's only one facility they have that could deal with more than one prisoner. They even already have one there."

Optimus knelt until he was eye level to Jake. "Are you sure?"

Jake nodded vigorously. "I'll show you, but we've got to hurry. I'm sure they're planning to try something on your missing friends."


	11. Furioso Marziale in E Minor

_**A note on the chapter title: **You may notice that all of my chapter titles are supposed to be like the titles of actual pieces of music, but this one is two musical terms put together. Sometimes pieces of music are titled with musical terms such as_ scherzo, fantasia, gigue_, etc. The title also usually consists of the key that it's in, I.e._ E major, B-flat minor_, ect. The reason I specifically mention "E Minor" is because the majority of this chapter's action happens around Elita and my band director once mentioned that a lot of darker pieces of music are done in minor keys. I don't know if you'd title an actual piece of music "Furioso Marziale in E minor", but I liked it so I titled it._

_PS: Turns out I'm justified in using E Minor. According to Wiki, the songs_ Iron Man _by Black Sabbath,_ Because of You _by Kelly Clarkson, the_ James Bond _Theme,_ Behind Blue Eyes _by The Who, _Paralyzer_ by Finger 11, the_ Pink Panther _Theme,_ Pinky and the Brain _theme, and_ Wake Up Call _by Maroon 5 are all in the E Minor key. I don't know about you, but a lot of those are pretty dark-ish._

**Chapter 11: Furioso Marziale In E Minor**

_**Furioso - **_**furiously**

_**Marziale - **_**in march style**

_**E Minor**_** - musical minor scale based on the note E. Consists of the pitches E, F-sharp, G, A, B, C, D.**

* * *

Elita tested the bars. "I wish I knew what they did with Will, Hunter, Fig, and Serena."

Jazz tapped on the bars. "I thought I heard someone singing from the next block over a couple of hours ago." He didn't share that he'd also heard screams with his super-sensitive audios.

Elita began to pace. "We've got to get them out of here."

Ironhide pushed from his seated position. "I've still got my cannons."

"No, they probably would kill them the moment they heard the blast." Jazz said.

Ironhide slouched. "There is that."

Suddenly, the door to Elita's right slid open. A mid-sized mech came through, heavy chains wrapped around all his joints and making movement nearly impossible. He was bolted to a special cart that was motoring him along. The three rushed their bars.

"Barricade!" they cried, Ironhide whipping out his cannons and Jazz stiffening.

The mech gave Elita and Jazz both rather strange looks and completely ignored Ironhide. He gestured behind him. "Your humans are in there."

They watched him as he went through the other door. "So this has been where Barricade's been." Jazz breathed.

Elita looked to Jazz and then to Ironhide. "Well, at least he's been off the streets."

* * *

"That's it." Jake said, gesturing to the facility. The Autobots and the rest of Lennox's special squad looked down on the nondescript building in the middle of nowhere and all of them felt a moment of raw anger. Their friends were in there. Keller had sent them word that his special team had found an incident on one of the interstate camera systems. Someone had abducted Lennox and Fig along with two others who had to be Hunter and Serena.

Optimus stared hard at the building. His femme was in there, he could feel it. "We have to get them out."

Everyone looked up at him. "I could help with that."

Optimus turned around to find Barricade with a group of Decepticons flanking him. Bumblebee, Ratchet, and the three femmes whipped out their weapons but out of nowhere a femme jumped in front of the Decepticons. "Wait! Wait!"

The Autobots lowered their weapons. Bumblebee stepped forward. "_Reconnaissance-Contact_?"

She nodded. "Call me Arcee."

Optimus stepped forward and gestured the others to stand down. "What do you want Barricade?"

"Personally, payback. Professionally, I've got a special message from Soundwave. He wants an alliance, and as a gesture of good will he wants us to help you out." Barricade explained. "That's why he sent me his best."

Optimus glanced at his team. "I didn't know that Skywarp was considered best at anything."

The Seeker in question stiffened. "Hey!"

Barricade's eyes were filled with humor. "Unfortunately, now that Starscream has gone rogue he's the second best flyer in the Decepticon ranks. We'll need him."

"What do you propose?" Optimus asked.

"One team go in, get the humans, and let the rest of the prisoners loose. The other team keep up a steady assault on the outside. Make them either stand and fight us or run." Barricade explained.

"Okay." Prime said. "Let's get to it."

"Wait!" Bee cried. "You're just going to trust him?"

Prime glanced back at Bee. "Yes. I trust him completely."

Bumblebee was about to ask something else when the first shot rocked the ground.

* * *

Serena heard the first shot. "What?" she asked, but was cut off by the building rocking. "Holy shit!" Lennox cried.

The humans were suddenly feeling the fact that they were in oversized cells. "We've got to get out of here." Fig cried. He ran to the bars and stuck his head through. "Hey you!"

The guard was looking around wild-eyed. "I'm not supposed to help you!" he answered in a scared wail.

"We're all gonna die if you don't help us!" Will shouted back. He looked at Fig, "Please don't make me go into my whole 'You're a soldier now' speech again." he muttered.

"How many times have you had to use it?" Fig asked.

"One too many." Lennox answered. "Come on! We've got to get out of here!"

The guard looked like he was fighting an internal conflict, but he jogged down the corridor and unlocked their doors. "Come on, you guys can get out that way." he said as he pointed to a door down the corridor.

"Where are our friends?" Lennox said, grabbing onto the man's collar.

The guard pointed to the opposite direction of freedom. "They're in there." He handed them a plastic key card. "Here. It never felt right after what happened with the first one."

"First one?" Lennox queried.

"We had another one. Looked a lot like the one that used to be in that cell," he pointed to the cell beside Serena's, "Man, his screams haunted a lot of us for months. I just wish I could have helped him get out."

"What happened to him?" Hunter asked.

"He escaped." the guard said. "A couple people helped get him out."

Lennox released the guard. "Get out of here."

The guard ran. Serena, Figueroa, Lennox, and Hunter ran the opposite way. They punched open the door to find chaos. "Shit." Lennox whispered. "Starscream."

"He's a bad guy?" Hunter asked.

"You have no idea." Lennox answered.

Jazz and Ironhide were frantically trying to get a shot at Scream, but he was using Elita as a shield. She was struggling hard and had her plasma gun out, but Starscream had one cannon aimed at her head and she couldn't get a clear shot. "Come along Elita dear." he was saying. He dragged her toward the huge hole in the wall.

"Put her down Starscream."

All eyes and optics turned to the new voice. Starscream growled. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Barricade."

Serena looked from the other mech to the Starscream. "But he said his name was Prowl."

The mech was holding a gun to Starscream's head. "Starscream, you made contact with Barricade while he was imprisoned and infected. All this insanity is because of the virus isn't it?"

Starscream laughed. "And you would know wouldn't you? You know all about insanity _Barricade_."

"Let her go Starscream." the other mech said.

"I think not." Thunderblast said. A shot rang out. The other mech cried out and crumpled to the ground.

"_Brother!_" Elita shrieked. "No, brother no!"

Starscream laughed and pulled the limp Elita with him. "Say goodbye darling."

"No!" Serena screamed. She watched helplessly as Thunderblast transformed and blasted out, her thrusters burning Jazz. His scream of pain nearly dwarfed the sound of the plane.

Starscream, however, was now having trouble holding onto Elita. She was kicking and scratching him, her plasma cannon forgotten. "Brother! Get up! Get up now!"

Ironhide neatly broke the bars of his cage and barreled toward Starscream and Elita. He managed to surprise the Seeker and wrench Elita out of his grasp. Elita left Ironhide to it and rushed to the downed mech's side. "Brother?! _Brother!_" She began to scream in Cybertronian, frantically trying to wake him.

Starscream cried in triumph as he slammed Ironhide into a wall. He grabbed Elita again and dragged her out the hole fully. She managed to get a shot at his leg, but he only grinned and made it impossible for her to get another shot by twisting her arm into her own chassis. He turned, only to be confronted with the business ends of at least ten concussion cannons and twenty or so human guns outfitted with sabot rounds. "Well, well, Optimus Prime." he snarled.

Optimus' hydraulic fluid and energon had frozen when he saw Elita in Starscream's arms. "Let her go."

"I don't think so."

Barricade shook his head. "He uploaded the virus from me on accident. Look at his optics. He's sick."

Starscream cocked his head. "I didn't upload anything from you Autobot scum."

"I'm not an Autobot." Barricade said.

"Yes you are! Oh, you fooled Megatron and you fooled Soundwave, but I knew all along! I knew it!"

"He's deranged." Barricade said calmly. "Let her go Starscream. I told you, she's not going to mate with you."

"Not until Prime's out of the way." Starscream said happily.

Barricade realized with a flash what was about to happen. "_Optimus sir!_" he cried as he lunged. He pushed Optimus out of the way just in time. Scorponok burst from the ground and speared Barricade in the shoulder.

Optimus turned as Barricade began to shell Scorponok. Skywarp swooped down and latched onto the writhing arachnid robot and drew him into the sky. He dropped the scorpion over a stretch of asphalt from several thousand feet in the air. Scorponok's body made a horrible sound as it twisted in on itself. From his position in the air, Skywarp couldn't help but laugh at the perfect splatter that Scoponok had made. "I never did like you."

Back on the ground Ratchet was busy administering to Barricade. Scorponok's blade had pierced his shoulder, but if it had hit it's original mark . . . . Optimus Prime would be dead. It wasn't lost on any of them in the still tense situation that a Decepticon had saved Optimus' life.

"You have no one left to throw at us." Thundercracker said. "Stand down Scream."

Starscream pulled Elita closer. "I don't think so."

Serena felt Hunter wrap his arms around her shoulders. "Come on, we've got to get out of here."

Serena shook her head. "No, we have to try to help Elita!"

Fig put a hand on her back. "What can we do?"

Serena looked around. All of the humans were standing by helplessly while the assembled robots stood at ready except for the downed mech and the medic. But Serena looked back inside. Jazz and the mech that had called himself Prowl were still inside, both of them laying on the floor. Jazz was trying to push himself up, but the other was just lying motionless.

Serena broke from Hunter and ran to Jazz. "Jazz, you okay?"

Jazz turned his large head toward her. "Yeah, but Ratchet is going to kill me once he gets done fixing me."

She gave him a watery smile. "He loves you, that's why he gives you hell for being hurt."

"Never met the mech and already she knows him well." Jazz murmured.

"Look, Jazz, either you or that guy over there have to get up and help. That Starscream guy still has Elita and there's like ten others out there trying to help, but they can't do anything because he has her. You've got to help!"

Jazz shook his head. "We'd probably only get her hurt. And Starscream isn't going to give up easily. He's obsessed."

"Why? Why her?"

"He killed our creator."

Both of them looked up to the kneeling mech. "He killed Alpha Trion, but he couldn't beat her. She kicked his aft to the Pit and back, and he became obsessed with her. That's Starscream's way. If he can't defeat it, he'll dominate and pervert it."

"She never mentioned that."

"She did it out of vengeance before she became the first femme of the Autobots but after she met Optimus, so if you heard the story of how she met him, that's why she left it out." he explained.

"Okay." Serena said. "But can you help?"

The mech shook his head. "Jazz is right. If either of us makes a move, she's dead. Starscream is just that unstable."

Serena screamed in frustration. "There's got to be something we can do!"

"Maybe there is something."

Serena looked over to see a nondescript man giving her a grin. "Who are you?"

"Name's Jake. Come with me."

The two desperate humans raced down the empty hallways of the building. Meanwhile, the situation outside worsened. Starscream gestured to Optimus.

"Take your life, and I'll let her go." he said.

Optimus looked to Elita. She shook her head. "No! I can't lose you too!" she cried.

"I have no choice." he said. "I can't let him hurt you."

The Autobots could only stare at their leader as he made a deal with the devil. The Decepticons found themselves curiously impressed by the Autobot's actions. They could understand his motives, and that was a first.

Elita wiggled. "No Optimus. You can't. If you die, I die too."

The humans in the audience were enthralled. Lennox - the big softie that he really is - felt tears gather in his eyes and when he glanced over at Epps, he saw the other man blinking his eyes rapidly. No one could fake the emotion in Optimus and Elita's voices. No one. The loved each other so much that neither one cared about dying. When this was over, he was going home and telling his wife how much he loved her in every way imaginable. He guessed that Epps had the same thoughts.

Back inside, Serena and Jake had reached what looked to Serena like a control room. There were several workstations, and Jake pulled up a chair at the nearest one.

"The thing about the virus that is infecting that Starscream dude is that it is a time bomb. It takes awhile to work, but it does a number. The original plan was to use it to make the public aware of the aliens. Can't really hide homicidal giant robots from the populace. But, as a precaution, a special key code was inserted. From here I can use it to kill that thing."

Serena smiled. "You can?!"

"Yeah, it'll kill it."

"But wait," Serena said, thinking of some of the past minutes, "What about the guy Starscream got it from? Elita called him her brother. Will it kill him too?"

Jake worried his lip. "Yeah, it'll kill him too."

Serena looked at Jake's poised fingers. "We can't do that. We can't kill her brother."

Jake licked his lips and closed his eyes with a deep breath. "I'm a programmer, I made the virus. I also programmed a special mutation initiative. Each active copy of the virus has a slightly different key code. If I enter the master key code, anything infected dies. If I enter the individual key code, I can kill a specific infected individual. But it might take me a second to find the key code variation."

"Do it." Serena cried.

* * *

Elita felt her spark dimming as she watched Optimus raising his arm. She knew that Optimus was now about to use his sword to decapitate himself. She slumped, and felt one of Starscream's hands slowly caressing her hip joint. She shuddered. "No." she murmured.

Optimus felt nothing but resolution. He knew that he had duty, that he had a responsibility, but his love for her trumped all that. Their love really was what ballads were written about.

Bumblebee, Arcee, Ratchet, Ironhide, Jazz, Skywarp, Thundercracker, and the humans all felt helpless. There was nothing they could do, no way they could stop the horror that was unfolding. Optimus would commit suicide and Starscream would go back on his word. He would force Elita to bond with him. Or at least try. She would most likely refuse and die from system degradation without Prime.

Barricade and Prowl felt rage. Starscream had already done enough to them and theirs. Both mechs rose up in rage and lunged toward Starscream from both sides. "Let her go you fragger!" Barricade screamed.

"You fucking mad-mech, let her go!" Prowl screamed.

Starscream turned and whipped out his guns. In doing so he released Elita and she lunged to Optimus. The Autobot Commander cried out in joy and pulled her close, sheltering her in his arms. Before he could fire, Starscream stiffened and jerked. He fell to the ground twitching and sputtering.

Everyone just stared as he stopped moving. "That was sudden." Skywarp said in the ensuing silence.

Barricade and Prowl swayed a little and sat down in tandem. Both of them looked worse for wear. Elita touched Optimus' face and then broke out of his grip. She walked over and knelt before the two mechs. To the utter surprise of all present but Optimus she leaned over and put her arms around them. "I'm so glad both of you are okay. I couldn't bear it if he'd taken anyone else from me."

"Don't worry little sister," one said.

"We'll never leave you." the other finished.

The shock was profound. Every single mandible in the area hit the ground.

"As the humans would say," - everyone turned to see Soundwave standing behind them with Thunderblast draped across his shoulders, Maggie and Glenn perched on his arm, and the rest of the Decepticons surrounding him - "the jig is up."

* * *


	12. Finale to the Ballet

**Chapter 12: Finale to the Ballet **

_**Ballet - **_**a form of dance characterized by conventional steps, poses, and graceful movements such as leaps and spins.**

* * *

Now, as one can imagine, the events of the past hour greatly shocked and stunned most of the participants. As can be expected, the motley assortment of humans, Autobots, and Decepticons were all hung up on something that had just occurred, either Starscream's sudden death or Elita's revelation that she shared a creator with Barricade and Prowl. Not to mention the fact that the mech they'd thought was Barricade was really Prowl and the mech they'd thought was Prowl was really Barricade.

The assembled humans were still trying to assimilate the fact that the Decepticons might not be total assholes after all. They were also trying to cope with the massive amount of adrenaline that had just rushed through their fragile bodies.

As a whole, the Autobots were trying to figure out how to cope with the fact that they'd fought against a comrade. They weren't as used to internal conflicts as the Decepticons were, so fighting a comrade was considered a big deal. Poor Bumblebee was worrying about the fact that he'd not only fought against a superior officer, but crushed him under a wrecking ball.

Arcee was trying to wrap her mind around the fact that she wasn't in love with a Decepticon, she was in love with an Autobot. What's more, it was Prowl, an anal-retentive workaholic who wouldn't know a sense of humor if it bit him on the aft. Worse, the aft shaft hadn't trusted her enough to tell her the truth the entire time.

However, ironically enough, it was Prowl who was the most confused out of them all. He wasn't Prowl, he was Decepticon Designation Barricade, Science Officer and Base Commander . . . . . Wasn't he?

* * *

They had gathered around in a circle not far from the base the Society had abandoned. They looked on to Elita and her two brothers, all wondering what was up. Elita glanced around before beginning. "As you all probably know, my creator was a mech by the name of Alpha Trion. However, I wasn't his first creation. He created two more before me. Long before the war began he created my eldest sibling, Prowl. After the war began, my creator became very curious and experimented with his second creation. He was named Barricade and programmed just the same as Prowl, but he was trained in the way of the Decepticons. I was Alpha Trion's final creation, and the only one that Trion didn't try to control. Instead, he let me make my own choice. I know this sounds cold, and I only found out after the fact. I love my creator, but even I can acknowledge that his actions were insensitive."

The assembly glanced at the two mechs sitting side by side. Serena frowned. They looked all the world like identical twins.

"Not long before the Allspark was sent into space, Barricade contacted me." Elita said. She gestured to the mech on her left. "He'd somehow become a favorite of Starscream, but unfortunately he wanted to go somewhere private to mate with his femme. Starscream refused to give him leave, so Barricade came to me. I arranged for Prowl to go deep undercover as Barricade in order for Cade to be able to mate with his precious Thunderblast."

"Wait, what?!" Chromia cried. "Thunderblast hates you!"

"Actually darling," Thunderblast cooed, "It's part of the act. I was trying to get a message to Elita when I staged my fake attack on you, but you got in my way."

Chromia let her engine growl. "So, you bone to pick wasn't with Elita."

"No," Thunderblast snarled, "It's with you!"

"Ladies!" Soundwave and Optimus boomed in unison. The two quieted down.

Elita shook her head. "As I was saying, Prowl agreed to go deep undercover, mostly because Barricade was allowing him to get access to Decepticon intelligence. You see, my brothers both care about me, but they could care less about each other."

"Got that right." one of them muttered.

"I think I can take it from here." Soundwave cut in. "I found out about the scheme and managed to capture the one I thought was Prowl. Unfortunately for me, the real Prowl was already aboard the search vessel that Starscream was commanding. I had the wrong one, but I kept his true identity secret, hoping to use him for my purposes. I allowed Thunderblast to hang around."

"But I thought Thunderblast was Starscream's chick?" Fig asked.

Thunderblast snorted some exhaust. "I'm one of Soundwave's spies. I had to mess with that fragger Starscream on Soundwave's orders."

"That couldn't have been fun." Jazz commented.

"Nope." Thunderblast agreed. "Sorry about the burns by the way. Soundwave told me not to hurt any of you guys badly."

Jazz cocked his head. "Good to know."

"What about Frenzy?" Ratchet asked.

"He had agreed to the scheme. Frenzy was a great risk-taker." Barricade said sadly.

"You're wrong."

All eyes and optics turned to Car 643, Prowl. "What are you talking about?" Bumblebee asked.

"I'm not Prowl. I'm Barricade."

Jazz cocked his head the other way. "Prowly, have you lost it?"

"I'm not Prowl, I'm Barricade."

The Autobots shared a look and the Decepticons began to mutter among themselves. Elita turned to her brother. "What do you mean?"

Maggie tapped her chin. "I might be able to shed some light on the situation. Does anybody have pen and paper?"

It took a few minutes for them to find some, but a tech who was working on gathering evidence had luckily brought an extra pad for her to use. Maggie bent over it and went to work. "I have a photographic memory. While I was working on Car 643 here -"

"Car 643?" Lennox asked aloud.

Maggie looked up. "It's on his roof. Anyway, Car 643 is the guy who we all thought was Barricade and who think's he really is. Well, while I was getting rid of the virus I went into some of his files. One of them looked like it might hold personal identification information. This was the string of runes that I saw in it." She held up the notepad.

It took a moment for the assembled Cybertronians to zoom in their optics on the rather small writing, but they all were poleaxed. Hunter looked around at the giant faces. "So, what does it say?"

Jazz read it. "Autobot Designation Prowl, Second Lieutenant and Base Commander."

Car 643 put a hand to his head. "So I am Prowl?"

Maggie nodded. "It was probably the virus. From the way Starscream there was acting, I wouldn't doubt that the virus could have corrupted the data in your processor until you thought you really were Barricade. Glenn and I got rid of the virus but the damage it did was left. We didn't have time to fix all of it. Since you must have had all his pertinent information anyway you probably could have even fooled other Decepticons who knew you into thinking you were really him to." She frowned. "However, now that I think about it, you still showed a few Autobot tendencies."

Ratchet got to his feet and motioned for Prowl to lie down. "I'm going to need a processor probe and a restoration program, but I think I can get you back to rights in no time."

"Good." Optimus said. He turned to Soundwave. "I trust that your offer still stands."

Soundwave nodded. "I believe peace would be a good idea. And all you have to give the Decepticons is Mars."

"I'll discuss it with the American government. But you know what this will mean." Optimus said.

Soundwave nodded. "But coming out of the proverbial closet won't be the Decepticons' problem now will it?"

* * *

Arcee glanced down at the monitor. It had been five Earth months since the fateful events at the Society's base. She hadn't had a chance to speak to Prowl since then. After they returned to base he had spent a month in stasis as Ratchet and Bluelights combined efforts to try to fix the damage. According to the two medics, the damage had been extensive. In the end they had to replace his entire processor. They'd spent the last four months slowly restoring his memory from the back ups on the old processor.

Meanwhile, the Autobots had made their formal presentation to Earth society. There had been an uproar and a slight panic, especially after it was revealed that the terrorist attack on Mission City was in fact a battle royale. However, thanks to the vocal human allies the 'Bots had, most of the panic died. The governments of Earth readily allowed the Decepticons to take possession of the planet Mars.

The Decepticons had settled in on Mars, and had decided that it could keep its name. They mined the iron ore and had become in a very short time one of the most important producers of the metal. They were still wary about the Autobots - and the vice versa was true - but all reports said that the contingent of Decepticons on Mars were rather peaceful. The Autobots were deeply suspicious of this, but they couldn't say anything. There had been a few skirmishes, but for the most part, the Decepticons kept to their corner and the Autobots kept to theirs.

For Arcee, the past five months had been hectic and melancholy. She hadn't had a chance to really talk to Prowl after that fateful day. She caught glimpses of him around the base of course, and he looked like the old Prowl right down to the data pad that was never far from his hand, but she couldn't help remembering how he'd been as Barricade.

Of course, that wasn't really accurate. Arcee had finally met and spent time with the real Barricade, and she had decided that she preferred to think of the mech she loved as Prowl. The real Barricade wasn't as understanding and noble as the one she knew. He was clever and quick and had an awful temper. He was alright, but not the Barricade she knew and loved.

Arcee made a disgusted sound. He wasn't the _Prowl_ she knew and loved.

What was worse was that peace time seemed to agree with everyone. She felt like the only single femme in the place. Elita of course had her Optimus, and Arcee couldn't begrudge them their happiness. Chromia and Ironhide were happily designing their first sparkling and Ratchet had finally made a pass at Override. Vibes was the only other single femme, but she was too busy exploring Earth culture with Jazz and Fig to really care. What really irked Arcee was the humans were all paired off too. Sam and Mikaela. Serena and Hunter. Sarah and Will. For Primus' sake _Jake_, nerdy, cowardly Jake, had gotten with Maggie.

She was surrounded by happy couples!

"Arcee?"

The femme glanced up to the doorway of her tiny office. "Prowl?" she asked uncertainly.

"May I come in?" he asked in his usual polite manner.

"Oh, sure." she said. He entered and closed the door.

"They just restored the last of my memory."

Arcee knew it. He now remembered everything that had happened between them. The long journey, their talks, the conversation in the parking lot; he remembered it all. Most important of all, he knew she loved him. Arcee had thought that she would stop after she knew his true identity, but the love was still there. "You remember then."

He nodded silently, his cool blue optics boring into her. "You said you loved me." he said slowly. There was silence for a few moments before she answered.

"Yes." she replied.

"I told you that I valued your friendship."

Arcee cocked her head. "Yes, you did." Was he just making sure that his memories were correct?

"I shouldn't have said that." he said.

Arcee froze. She felt her spark stutter and then felt like a fist was squeezing her. "You shouldn't have?"

Prowl reached out and gently touched the hand she had on her desk. His fingers were no longer claws, but instead the blunt digits of most Autobots. He curled his fingers around hers. "I should have told you the whole truth. I didn't just value your friendship."

Arcee stared at him, trying not to hope.

"The entire time I was trying to be logical and figure out why I had went after you. It was pure luck. I had seen you land and when I'd realized it was you, I became fixated in my insane state." he murmured. "The entire journey I thought it was just carry over from the insanity. I tried not to feel what I did because I knew it couldn't happen that fast." He uttered a wry chuckle. "I don't believe in love at first sight."

Arcee could only sit there speechless, the implications of what he was saying running around her processor.

"And my belief still held true. Arcee, I've been attracted to you for a long time. I came after you because I knew you and I knew you'd help. I finally took the next step when I spent so much time with you."

Arcee had known Prowl for a long time. She had never thought of him romantically so it was a shock to find that he had thought of her in that manner. He'd always seemed so cold, so remote. To find that not only had he found her attractive, but that he might care for her before this whole fiasco was strange.

"What are you saying?" she asked in a whisper.

Prowl looked down and then looked back into her optics. "Arcee, do you still love me?"

Arcee jerked, but he kept a hold on her hand. She let a few awkward moments pass before nodding. He walked around the desk and knelt beside her. The entire time she watched him, her optics never leaving his. The entire world seemed to become surreal. "Arcee, I love you. That's what I should have said in that parking lot."

She took a moment to send thanks to Primus before she touched him lightly on the face. "I love you too."

Prowl stood and drew her up. With a happy rev of her engine, Arcee leaned into his arms.

* * *

Elita sighed contentedly as she and Optimus watched the stars twinkle and wink in the sky. She was with the one she loved and they had finally agreed to begin designing a sparkling. She was doubly happy that not only would she have a creation to raise, she would be able to raise it in peace. She glanced over to the couple that was sitting to their left.

Chromia and Ironhide were busy explaining the constellations to their sparkling. His grey protoform body blended dully between Ironhide's black bulk and Chromia's blue armor. The construction of his permanent body was almost complete so soon they'd welcome another into the Autobot fold.

To Elita and Optimus' left Ratchet was discussing something quietly with Override. Jack and Maggie were sitting on Override's shoulder, so it was probably something to do with computer viruses. Sarah, Will, Annabelle, Will Jr., and Vibes were sitting around a campfire roasting marshmallows. Vibes gave hers to Will Jr.

Mikaela and Sam were off on their honeymoon. Jazz was with Fig down by the road talking to an exec about some project of Jazz's. Serena was sitting in front of Elita with Hunter. It had been a busy summer so far. It had been two years since this motley assortment of humans and bots had met, and not of them regretted it.

Elita's optics were drawn to the couple sitting close together not far in front of her and Optimus. They made an adorable silhouette against the starry sky sitting beside the lone tree. She was very happy that her elder brother and Arcee had found one another.

Optimus gently touched her face. "What are you thinking?"

"That I'm glad to be here."

"I love you Elita." he murmured.

"Will you love me forever?" she asked mischievously.

"Forever and a day." he chuckled in response.

Down by the tree Arcee leaned her head on Prowl's shoulder. Prowl as still a little uncomfortable with public affection, but she'd learned that he was okay with her leaning on him. "I can't believe it."

He chuckled warmly and turned to her. "Can't believe what pray tell?"

She looked up to him and her optics crinkled. "That I never thought of this before. I can see why Optimus and Elita enjoy it."

"Nice isn't it?"

"Yes." She touched his face. "I love you."

"Will you love me forever?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Of course!" Arcee answered with mock indignation.

Sitting between the two couples, Serena smiled. Her muse had just kicked into overdrive.

With a loud whoop, Jazz and Fig roared up to the assembly. "You guys will never believe it!" Fig cried.

"He took us up on it!" Jazz cried.


	13. Epilogue: Ballads

**Epilogue: Ballads**

**_Ballad_ - 1. a song telling a story in a few short stanzas, often with a refrain.**

**2. a slow romantic song**

* * *

In the summer of 2012, a new artist was on the rise. He was a singer with a crooning voice, and it didn't take long for him to rise to the top of the charts. His songs were written by the lovely Serena Quinn. She was notable to the world at large for her powerful songs. She wrote and produced all of the artist's songs and made a name for herself. He was always escorted by a large Latino who preferred to be called Fig. Fig was a retired soldier who acted as both bodyguard and friend. This new artist was heavily connected to Cyber-Tronics, a corporation that owned his record label plus a variety of electronics companies.

It also didn't take long from him to attract a bevy of fan girls. The artist and his bodyguard basked in the attention the girls lavished on him. The fact that he moonlighted as a Pontiac Solstice didn't deter them at all.

* * *

_**Forever and a Day**_

_**Written and produced by Serena Quinn **_

_**Performed by Jazz**_

_(Verse)_

_From the first time he saw her _

_He knew that he had to have her. _

_The girl fought hard _

_The boy fought harder _

_It didn't take long for the boy to win _

_The girl didn't mind though _

_T__hey were in love. _

_He had to leave, __duty was callin' _

_And she sent him off, her heart breakin' _

_But he promised her forever _

_Forever and a day._

_(Chorus 1) _

_Oh, oh _

_She was a fighter. _

_He was a soldier _

_Maybe some matches are made in Heaven. _

_Maybe some are made in Hell _

_And maybe some are made in war._

_(Verse)_

_Now this boy was a loner _

_Or so he thought _

_Now this girl was kind _

_Maybe he didn't deserve her._

_Hard to tell when you barely know who you are_

_She loved him and he loved her_

_And sometimes that's all you need._

_She promised him forever_

_Forever and a day_

_(Chorus 2)_

_Oh, oh, _

_She was a healer_

_He was a soldier_

_Maybe some matches are made in Heaven_

_Maybe some are made in Hell_

_And maybe some are made in war._

_(Bridge)_

_Life is hard and so unfair_

_Rippin' us apart and puttin' us together_

_But anytime we're together with the one_

_It's all okay._

_Chorus 1 (2x)_

_Chorus 2 (2x)_

_He promised her forever_

_Forever and a day._

_Forever and a day._


End file.
